THE REALITY OF 

PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

RAPS, LEVITATIONS, ETC. 



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in 2011 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



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MISS KATHLEEN GOLIGHKR 

Through whose wonderful physical niediumship the experiments 
described in this book were rendered possible. 



^Frontispiece 



THE REALITY OF 

PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

RAPS, LEVITATIONS, ETC. 






" BY 



W! J. CRAWFORD, D.Sc. 

LECTURER IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, THE MUNICIPAL TECHNICAL INSTITUTE, 

BELFAST ; EXTRA-MURAL LECTURER IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, 

queen's university of BELFAST ; 

AUTHOR OF "elementary GRAPHIC STATICS," 

"calculations on THE ENTROPY-TEMPERATURE CHART," ETC. 



LONDON 
JOHN M. WATKINS 

21 CECIL COURT, CHARING CROSS ROAD 
1916 









SIFT 
MAURICE BU PORT lEg 



IVoperty of the 
2.ibrary of Congres 



PREFACE 

The experiments described were carried out 
during portions of the years 1915 and 1916, 
many of them being recorded in the pages of 
Light at the time. I have endeavoured in 
this work to put them more or less in logical 
sequence so that the reader may understand the 
processes that led me to enunciate the cantilever 
theory. Much of the text is, however, now 
published for the first time. 

I am indebted to Mr Seamus Stoupe of the 
Art Department of the Technical Institute, 
Belfast, for the two photographs of apparatus ; 
and I have to express my thanks to Messrs 
W. & T. Avery, Ltd., for the use of their 
weighing and measuring machines. 

I do not discuss in this book the question of 
the identity of the invisible operators. That is 
left for another occasion. But in order that 
there may be no misapprehension, I wish to 
state explicitly that I am personally satisfied 
they are the spirits of human beings who have 
passed into the Beyond. 

W. J. CRAWFORD. 

Belfast, Sept. 1916. 



CONTENTS 

CHAP. PA<3K 

1. PRELIMINARY REMARKS ON THE COMPOSITION 

OF THE CIRCLE, THE PHENOMENA, ETC. . I 

2. PHONOGRAPH RECORD OF THE NOISES . 2/] 

3. REACTION DURING LEVITATION OF THE TABLE 34 

4. SOME MISCELLANEOUS EXPERIMENTS, OB- 

SERVATIONS, AND CALCULATIONS . . 60 

5. CONDITIONS ABOVE, UNDER, AND ROUND 

THE LEVITATED TABLE .... 79 

6. LEVITATION DIRECTLY ABOVE THE PLATFORM 

OF A WEIGHING MACHINE ... 95 

7. EXPERIMENTS WITH COMPRESSION SPRING 

BALANCE UNDERNEATH THE LEVITATED 
TABLE 107 

8. COMPLETION OF THE EXPERIMENTS ON LEVI- 

TATION 138 

9. A CANTILEVER THEORY FOR LEVITATION . 15I 

10. RAPS 181 

11. THE ROD THEORY FOR RAPS . . . 193 

12. MISCELLANEOUS EXPERIMENTS . . . 210 

13. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS .... 221 

vii 



THE REALITY OF 

PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

CHAPTER I 

PRELIMINARY REMARKS ON THE COMPOSITION 
OF THE CIRCLE, THE PHENOMENA, ETC. 

The circle with whose voluntary co-operation 
I have carried out the experiments recorded 
in this book, consists of seven members, as 
follows : — Mr Morrison, Mrs Morrison, Miss 
Kathleen Goligher, Miss Lily Goligher, Miss 
Anna Goligher, Mr Goligher, and Master 
Samuel Goligher. It is altogether a family 
affair, being composed of father, four daughters, 
son, and son-in-law, for Mrs Morrison is the 
sister of the medium. All the members are 
mediums in a greater or less degree, the various 
phases of the phenomena presented consisting 
of trance speaking, automatic writing, table 
movements, and so on. One member of the 
family. Miss Kathleen Goligher, the youngest 
of the four daughters, is, however, a medium 
of outstanding merit. This young lady was 

1 



2 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

born on June 27, 1898. She has probably 
inherited her mediumistic tendencies, for there 
are psychic traditions in the family on the 
mother's side. Her mediumship was discovered, 
as so often happens, more or less by accident. 
Some three years ago the family was desirous 
of sitting for physical phenomena, and formed, 
in the ordinary way, a circle. Rappings were 
obtained almost at once, and then by a process 
of elimination — in which the medium was 
eliminated amongst others — her gift was dis- 
covered. Since then the family has regularly 
conducted its development, week by week, with 
the result that the physical phenomena now 
presented are powerful and well regulated. 

The whole of the family look upon Spiritualism 
as their religion, They attend no church other 
than the Spiritualistic, but they are devoted in 
their attachment to that — several of the young 
ladies being members of the choir or serving in 
other capacities, while Mr Morrison is a member 
of the Committee, and works hard in the 
interests of the Society. They are simple and 
harmonious in their home life, and are in every 
way fit recipients of the extraordinary pheno- 
mena obtained through their instrumentality. 

The seances for my experimental work were 
mostly held in an attic in the house occupied 
by the medium's family, though I have occasion- 
ally held them in my own house, and I have also 
witnessed the phenomena in the houses of friends. 
The room or house where the seances are held 



PRELIMINARY REMARKS 3 

seems to make little or no difference, for a few 
minutes after the circle is formed, wherever it 
be, phenomena begin to be produced. The attic 
above referred to was, however, most suitable, 
as it is kept for no other purpose than for use 
as a stance-room, and the family also find it 
more convenient to assemble in their own house. 
For it must be remembered that each one of my 
experimental sittings necessitated the attendance 
and co-operation of eight persons, and in addition 
there was a great deal of preliminary work to be 
attended to, such as the provision of apparatus, 
etc. For psychical research is like no other 
kind of research. Before we can expect any- 
thing worth having in the way of results we 
must have the following set of conditions as 
nearly perfect as possible : — 
(a) A very powerful medium. 
{b) A circle of sitters supporting the medium. 
(c) The medium and sitters to be imbued with 
the seriousness and wonder of the pheno- 
mena presented — to be linked together, 
as it were, by the one object of getting 
the most out of the phenomena for the 
common good. 
{d) A band of operators who have the same 
objects in view as those mentioned in (c). 
Mischievous operators or others who will 
not or cannot co-operate with the experi- 
menter are useless. 
(e) The phenomena must not be produced spon- 
taneously, but must be under command. 



4 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

I need hardly say that if money be the chief 
and only object of the medium's ambition, prac- 
tically no experimental work can be done. It is 
a matter of experience — my experience, anyway 
— that the medium and sitters must not develop 
any form of material greed, or the phenomena 
become undependable and unreliable. This 
does not mean, of course, that a medium 
may not take reasonable remuneration ; but it 
decidedly means that if she is purely and 
absolutely concerned with the amount of 
money she can make out of her psychic gifts, 
her phenomena suffer. 

The five conditions given above for successful 
experimental work in the psychic realm are, in 
my opinion, absolutely essential. Omit any one 
of them, and the results suffer from a scientific 
point of view. This is probably the reason 
why so little such work is done. The required 
conditions are generally too much for the 
experimenter. 

Unless the invisible operators co-operate 
heartily in experimental work, the results are 
likely to be of small value, for it goes without 
saying that spontaneous phenomena are of little 
use. I think that the thing which has chiefly 
struck me, during the course of my investigation, 
has been the wonderful co-operation between the 
operators and myself. One scarcely becomes 
used, no matter how long one works at psychical 
phenomena, to having one's behests attended to 
by beings who are entirely beyond the confines 



PRELIMINARY REMARKS 5 

of bodily sight. But I can say truly that during 
all my experimental seances every demand I 
made of the operators was either successfully 
carried out or was attempted. They were 
evidently anxious to submit to every scientific 
test imposed. Sometimes, but very occasionally, 
when something stood in the way of the accom- 
plishment of some of my requests, they would 
spell out a word or sentence which would enable 
me to understand the obstruction in the way of 
the production of the phenomenon I particularly 
wanted. Sometimes I have reason to suppose 
they would, of their own volition, bring to my 
attention phases of an experiment which I had 
overlooked. In the whole of the five conditions 
enumerated above I have been fortunate in ob- 
taining a very high degree of perfection. Indeed, 
I cannot see how they could have been greatly 
improved upon. 

I have said that most of my experimental 
seances were held in an attic in the house occupied 
by the medium's family. The floor of the room 
is bare. Each member of the circle possesses a 
special wooden chair and sits on no other (except 
on special occasions when I altered the arrange- 
ment). Besides the chairs the only other furni- 
ture in the room consists of the seance table and 
a few ornaments on the mantelpiece (except of 
course when I brought in apparatus). [During 
the last experimental sitting, however, there was 
a small cabinet in a corner of the room, the circle 
having commenced to sit for materialisations ; 



6 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

but during all the other stances the room was 
as I have described.] 

For the general purpose of lighting the seance 
chamber, a gas jet enclosed in a lantern having 
a red glass sliding front and side is used. The 
intensity of the light can thus be considerably 
varied by means of an ordinary cock. When 
one becomes used to the red light, the visibility 
becomes quite good — most objects in the room 
are quite plainly seen. It is to be regretted that 
psychical phenomena cannot as a rule be pro- 
duced in full white light ; but we have to take 
this matter as we find it and submit to the con- 
ditions imposed by nature. 

For reading small numbers and graduations, 
such as those on the steelyard of a weighing- 
machine, I most often employed an electric 
pocket-lamp with the lens covered with a piece 
of red tissue-paper. 

The seance is opened with the singing of a 
hymn and a prayer. In a few minutes light raps 
are usually heard near the medium, which quickly 
increase in intensity. Within a quarter of an 
hour most of the phenomena are often in full 
swing. A hymn is sung occasionally during the 
course of the seance. The sitting is closed by 
prayer. 

The method of conducting the circle is as 
simple as possible. The members simply sit 
round in approximately circle formation and clasp 
each other's hands in chain order. The seance 
table is placed on the floor within the circle. 



PRELIMINARY REMARKS 7 

1 have found by experience that for the first 
thirty minutes or so of the sitting, quickest and 
best results are obtained if the chain formation 
of hands is adhered to ; after that it matters 
very Httle whether the circle clasp hands or 
whether they put hands on knees. This points 
to the likelihood that during the commencement 
of a seance processes are in operation which are 
more or less in abeyance later on, when a condi- 
tion of psychic equilibrium has been established. 
I will describe an experiment which would 
appear to verify this, where the medium was 
seated on a weighing-machine near the com- 
mencement of the stance. 

The phenomena presented are purely physical, 
and physical in the sense that the results depend 
upon the action of psychic force upon material 
bodies. No materialisations or partial material- 
isations have so far occurred. Therefore such 
phenomena, being due to the action of psychic 
force alone, can be studied in a more satisfactory 
manner than would be the case if they were 
complicated by more advanced types. I hold 
strongly to the opinion that if the processes 
resulting in the application of psychic force 
are once really discovered, then the rest of 
psychic phenomena will rapidly fall into place 
and be understandable. Psychic energy — as 
evidenced in good physical seances — is at the 
root of the whole thing, and it is useless to 
expect any great advance until its laws have 
been unravelled. The Goligher circle allows of 



8 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

the display of psychic force to the very best 
advantage. Not only is the force exerted of 
large magnitude, but it is also accurate, under 
command, and infinitely variable. Further, all 
the movements of matter produced by it are 
telekinetic, or produced without material con- 
tact. This is to be thoroughly understood. In 
no eocperiment which I describe in this booh was 
there any contact between any portion of the 
body or dress of the medium or sitters and the 
7naterial body under psychic action. 

1 would, speaking broadly, divide the pheno- 
mena produced into two classes: (1) impacts, and 
(2) movements of material bodies against the 
action of forces such as those of friction and 
gravity. The impact phenomena consist of raps 
and their variations, and are not caused by the 
action of matter on matter ; for instance, I 
would not term the action of a table leg being 
raised and being struck on the floor (which I 
have often observed) an impact phenomenon. 
The impact type is that where a blow is 
caused by psychic force being applied suddenly 
to a material body. 

Examples of this type are many at the 
Goligher circle ; amongst others the following 
variations commonly occur : — {a) raps of all 
degrees of loudness from the slightest taps to 
blows which might verily be produced by a 
sledge-hammer ; {b) combinations of raps, such 
as single knocks, double knocks, treble knocks 
(two fast, one slow), volleys of raps, imitations 



PRELIMINARY REMARKS 9 

of tunes and dances (the latter including the 
sand-dance, from the kind of shuffling pro- 
duced) — in fact, every kind and combination of 
rap it is possible to imagine ; (c) specialities, 
such as the imitation of a bouncing ball (most 
perfect in sound quality), imitation of a match 
being struck, imitation of a man walking and a 
horse trotting, imitation of the leg of the table 
being sawn, of the floor being rubbed with sand- 
paper, and so on. 

To the second class belong all movements of 
material bodies due to the action of psychic 
force upon them. The levitation of a table is 
the most spectacular and common, but there 
are also all kinds of motions of the table upon 
the floor — translational, rotational, and combina- 
tions of these two. The table is sometimes 
gently lowered about two legs to the floor and 
replaced in position. A metal trumpet is waved 
about in the air. A small handbell is taken up 
and rung. The sitters are sometimes psychically 
" touched." 

A great many people have now seen the 
phenomena produced through the circle, and I 
have yet to meet the person who was not deeply 
impressed. The unseen operators seem to enjoy 
convincing the believer and sceptic alike of the 
reality of psychic force. In this connection the 
reader will be interested to hear how they treat 
the ordinary lay visitor. The visitor is usually 
invited to enter the circle, to lay hold of the 
table (at the moment stationary) and to en- 



10 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

deavour to prevent it from moving. Then the 
tussle begins. If he is very muscular and has 
his weight nicely placed over the centre of the 
table, the experimenter may have the better of 
matters for a short time, though it is amusing 
to the onlookers to see how hard he is pressed. 
But sooner or later (usually sooner) the table 
eludes him, jumps this way and that about the 
floor, tilts, twists, and, if his muscular pressure 
is momentarily relaxed, levitates. Then there is 
more trouble. The table, once levitated, strongly 
objects to be pushed to the floor, and few persons 
can push it there, no matter how they try. Then 
after a struggle with the levitating force the 
table again becomes tranquil on the floor and 
the visitor is invited to sit on it. But he does 
not sit long. In a moment or two it gently 
rises on two legs and slides him off. Finally 
it escorts him outside the circle, the " escorting " 
consisting of forcible ejectment by an over- 
whelming pressure against his body. 

Fraud 

Of course, all the experiments recorded in this 
book depend for any value they may have on 
the fact that the table movements, levitations, 
raps, blows, and other phenomena are genuine 
productions due to the action of psychic force, 
and are in no way caused by fraudulent action 
on the part of the medium or members of the 
circle ; and by fraudulent action I refer not only 
to conscious but also to unconscious imposture. 



PRELIMINARY REMARKS 11 

for without doubt there are cases in which a 
medium, quite unconsciously to herself, uses 
methods for the production of phenomena that 
amount to fraud. 

I propose to give here briefly a few of the 
facts which show that the phenomena produced 
at the Goligher circle are the genuine thing and 
are in no way due to conscious or unconscious 
action on the part of the medium or sitters. 

(1) The medium and her family are upright, 
religious-minded people, who keep to a high 
moral standard in their daily lives. Each and 
every one of them is incapable of any wrong 
action with regard to the ordinary affairs of life. 
They all look upon the phenomena as specially 
presented to show that life is continuous after 
bodily death, of which they are all now ab- 
solutely certain ; in other words, they are all 
convinced Spiritualists, and I could not imagine 
anything that could alter their convictions in 
this matter. 

(2) All the stances are looked upon as religious 
institutions. They are invariably opened and 
closed by prayer. No levity is permitted. 

(3) All the members of the circle are my 
personal friends, and I have had an intimate 
knowledge of them for three years. I under- 
stand exactly their views of life and of things in 
general, their idiosyncrasies, their high standard 
of rectitude, and their attitude regarding the 
phenomena and its relation to themselves. 

(4) The medium is the least enthusiastic 



12 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

member of the circle. She is the only one who 
cares little about the phenomena. I think she 
sits more as an obligation to the others than for 
any innate satisfaction to herself. Whether 
phenomena are obtained at the stances or not 
does not affect her in the least. 

(5) The medium is a private one. She charges 
nothing. I have never paid her one penny for 
any of the seances she has so kindly given me. 
She is very averse to looking upon her medium- 
ship as a commercial asset. 

(6) No dark seances are held. The light is 
usually strong enough — after the eyes get accus- 
tomed to its red colour — to see quite plainly all 
the sitters. It is a subdued kind of light, issuing 
from a large surface of oiliinary gas flame. The 
only difficulty in the visibility is where a table 
or other large body casts a shadow over a portion 
of the floor. The hands of the sitters can nearly 
always be quite plainly seen, and it is a simple 
experiment, while the stance table is levitated a 
foot or more in the air, to ask the sitters to raise 
their hands (joined in chain order) up to the level 
of their heads, so that the observer can be quite 
sure that the hands have nothing whatever to 
do with the phenomenon. The observer at this 
time may be within the circle, and he may 
move anywhere inside it so long as he does not 
get immediately in front of the medium. The 
only place in shadow, if the table is com- 
paratively large (if it is a small one he can see 
right round it), is between the foot of the table 



PRELIMINARY REMARKS 13 

and the medium. But even with the largest 
table it is sometimes possible to see completely 
under it (as I have done), to see the feet and 
bodies of all present at rest and hands held 
together in chain order, while the table has been 
steadily levitated. It comes to this, then, that 
the only region not always visible (and this is 
only sometimes the case) is the region in the 
neighbourhood of the medium just above and 
on the floor. In many cases of levitation, the 
levitated table, the space all round, above, and 
over it, and all the sitters are quite plainly 
visible. 

(7-) The medium was quite conscious during all 
my experimental investigations, and any fraud 
presented would therefore be in the nature of 
deliberate action. She herself was always keenly 
interested in the experiments, and has told me 
she enjoys such sittings much more than ordinary 
development seances. It was amusing to watch 
how interested she was when, say, an electric 
bell was rung by the reaction under a levitated 
table, or when other experimental work was in 
progress. Many times I have observed the 
keenness with which she followed what went on, 
evidently forgetting for the time being that she 
herself was the prime cause of all the pheno- 
mena, and that without her there would have 
been nothing. 

(8) It matters not one whit whether the 
members of the circle come to the seance-room 
in their ordinary boots or shoes, in their stocking 



14 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

soles, or in soft felt slippers. The thunderous 
blows on the floor within the circle are not in 
the least affected as regards magnitude. One 
distinguished visitor to the circle, after hearing 
the tremendous din caused by the "raps," had 
the fact pointed out to him that all the members 
wore soft felt slippers, and that with hands all 
visibly joined it was an impossibility to produce 
such noises normally. The medium on this oc- 
casion was asked to remove her slippers in order 
that it might be shown no hard substance was 
concealed therein ; which, of course, she im- 
mediately did, with results evidently satisfactory 
to the visitor. 

(9) A great many people have been invited 
to visit the circle and witness the phenomena. 
I think I can say that not one of all these has 
come away from it without the assurance that 
"there is something in psychic force," be he 
previously sceptic, believer, or a sitter " on the 
fence." Of course, the visitor is not always 
certain that the phenomena are produced by 
spirits of the dead ; but at least he is sure of this, 
that they are genuine and in no way due to 
normal action on the part of the medium or 
members of the circle. 

(10) The magnitude of the motions applied to 
the table must be seen to be believed. Often a 
force approximating a hundredweight is exerted. 
A visitor is invited to enter the circle, as already 
explained, to lay hold of the table, and to try to 
prevent its motion. I have never yet seen this 



PRELIMINARY REMARKS 15 

successfully accomplished. Now, the only way 
such movements could be given normally to the 
table is by the feet of the medium, for all hands 
and bodies of sitters and medium are quite 
plainly seen, and the only part that may be in 
shadow is near the feet of the medium. It can 
be proved conclusively by direct experiment that 
even if the medium were to lie back in her chair, 
spread her feet out so that they were under the 
surface of the table, eighteen inches or more 
away, and endeavour to levitate it or move 
it about, such motion of her body would be 
immediately detected, and that a man pressing 
immediately over the table could prevent even 
the slightest motion by a ridiculously small effort, 
whereas, as already mentioned, the strongest 
man cannot in reality do so. The leverage from 
the medium's feet to her body is so great that 
a very small force only is required to prevent 
motion. 

(11) If the medium leans back in her chair 
and endeavours to levitate the table with her 
feet, she may do so for a few seconds, in a stilted, 
jerky kind of fashion ; but the real levitation is 
quite different in character and quality from the 
spurious one, and the latter can only be main- 
tained for a very short time. 

(12) I have spent many hours within the circle 
in all places round it, and I have continually 
worked under the levitated table and between 
the levitated table and the medium ; I have 
had complicated instruments below the table ; I 



16 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

have often placed my arm and hand in the space 
between medium and table and felt her feet and 
legs absolutely still during the course of experi- 
ments in which the table was levitated and the 
instruments were registering below it ; and I 
say finally that if the medium had desired to 
impose, she could not, no matter how she tried, 
have kept the table levitated and the instruments 
registering at the same time, while my hands 
were on such instruments and I myself close 
to her feet and working between her and the 
table. 

(13) It is well to analyse a few of the experi- 
mental results with regard to the theory of fraud. 
The experiments in Chapter III. show conclusively 
that while the table is steadily levitated nearly 
the whole of its weight is upon the medium. 
Therefore it follows that if anyone is lifting 
the table with any part of his body, it is the 
medium, and the others are not concerned. The 
medium's hands are always quite visible, and the 
only part of her sometimes in deep shadow (if 
the table is a comparatively large one) is from 
her knees downwards. Now, it is impossible for 
her to put her feet below the surface of the table 
unless she leans back in her chair and sprawls 
her body forward into the circle space (as already 
mentioned), and such a manoeuvre would be 
instantly detected. But if we suppose (taking 
the most unfavourable case) that she could do 
this, the only way in which she could levitate 
the table would be with her feet. We therefore 



PRELIMINARY REMARKS 17 

narrow down any theory of fraud to the surrepti- 
tious use by the medium of her feet. 

Consider Experiment 50, where there was a 
large compression balance below the table during 
levitation. The balance was reading SO lbs. 
while the table was in the air a foot above the 
floor. How could this be accomplished by 
fraudulent means on the part of the medium ? 
Only in one way. One foot would have to be 
levitating the table and the other would have to 
be pressing down on the pan of the balance, an 
exceedingly difficult matter indeed, and practi- 
cally impossible, as experiment proves, even when 
all possible help is given to the medium, includ- 
ing holding her arms tight to prevent her falling. 
Supposing, however, that she could accomplish 
this, how is it that for the same table and the same 
balance, the balance read the same amount within 
half a pound every time I tried the experiment, 
and I tried it often ? How could she gauge 
the downward force so accurately each time ? 
Would there not be a variation of several pounds 
at least ? 

Experiment further shows that the downward 
force on the balance is applied gradually and at 
a uniform rate, and that the table always springs 
into the air at the same instant, i.e. when the 
balance reads just about SO lbs,, and that there 
is never any variation during successful levitation 
in this arrangement. If the medium pressed 
down on the balance with one foot, would she 
be able to apply the pressure so gradually and 



18 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

uniformly, and would she be able to levitate the 
table always at the same relative instant ? 

In Experiment 46 (E) I actually placed my 
hand and part of my arm in the scale-pan of the 
balance while it was registering and while the 
table was levitated above it. There was nothing 
in the pan, and furthermore both the levitation 
and the reading on the balance were in this 
instance unaffected. 

Take Experiments 48 and 49. The medium's 
feet were near the nail N on the floor. I 
placed them there and felt them from time to 
time, and they never moved. There were three 
sets of phenomena in simultaneous operation 
in these experiments: (1) table levitated; (2) 
balance B reading ; (3) balance S reading. My 
position was near S, and my hands were continu- 
ally moving to and fro in front of the medium's 
feet and between her feet and the table. Further- 
more, during half a dozen readings or more I 
took, the readings on the balances hardly varied 
at all. 

Take Experiments 51 and 52. Those show 
conclusively that when the table is levitated 
above the platform E, there is no reaction on 
the platform until it reaches a height of about 
three inches above the floor. That is to say, 
if the medium is frauding, she lifts the table 
with one foot only, until E is about three inches 
above the floor, and then (and not until then) 
places the other foot on E and (as the tabulation 
of Experiment 52 shows) increases with that foot 



PRELIMINARY REMARKS 19 

the pressure on the platform as the latter is 
gradually raised in height. This would be a 
silly procedure, as (if the thing were possible 
at all, which it is not) she would naturally press 
on the platform at its lowest position, and would 
not wait until it was about three inches above 
the floor and then nicely regulate her pressure 
to about three-quarters of a pound. 

In Experiment 22 it is shown that the table 
may have its weight so greatly increased that a 
strong man leaning over it cannot raise it from 
the floor. How can this be done by fraud with 
a table consisting of a top and four legs only ? 
Again, a favourite test for visitors is to grasp 
the table while it is levitated eighteen inches 
up in the air and to try to prevent it reaching 
the floor again. This is impossible, as the table 
is pulled down so powerfully that a strong man 
cannot hold it back. This experiment is im- 
possible by fraud under the conditions of the 
stance-room. 

In Experiments 34, 35, 36, and 37 it is shown 
that I moved my arms, my hands, and rods 
freely below the levitated table and encountered 
no solid body whatever. 

In Experiments 59 and 60 I moved apparatus 
freely in front of the medium between her and 
the table, and / could plainly see the whole space 
and also the table. 

In general I have worked for the best part of 
a year below and round about the levitated 
table ; I have explored the whole space sur- 



20 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

rounding it on many occasions ; I have thoroughly 
observed by sight and by the use of instruments 
all that is to be noted ; and I say now finally 
that every phenomenon occurring at the Goligher 
circle is absolutely genuine to the minutest detail. 
So conscientious are the medium and members 
of the circle that any accidental movement of 
the foot or body on the part of any is always 
immediately mentioned. It is, as I have said, a 
private family circle, and the greatest harmony 
exists amongst all the sitters. They have volun- 
tarily allowed me to carry out the experiments 
without hope or thought of gain on their part, 
their idea being that since so many and such high- 
grade phenomena have been presented through 
them, they should do a little to help others not so 
fortunately placed ; and they consider they have 
done this by allowing me to experiment. 

To Miss Kathleen Goligher, one of the 
greatest and best of physical mediums, I feel 
that it is necessary publicly to apologise for 
having, in her case, even to mention the fraud 
hypothesis. She knows, however, that I must 
do so. The truth, of course, is that nobody who 
has not visited the circle can have even the 
faintest idea of the magnitude of the forces 
involved, and the extraordinary variety and 
intensity of the phenomena produced. To all 
visitors the phenomena are so manifestly aud 
palpably genuine that they are never troubled 
again with doubts as to whether there is such a 
thing as psychic force. 



PRELIMINARY REMARKS 21 

I will conclude my brief references to this 
matter by reproducing an article of mine from 
Light, written in reply to some of the usual 
sceptics who will believe nothing unless they 
themselves are witnesses: — 

" Where was the Imposture, Conscious or 
Unconscious ? 

" I would like to say here that it is naturally 
repugnant both to myself and to Miss Goligher 
that any aspersions should be cast upon the 
genuineness of her mediumship. She is an 
upright and honourable young woman, has 
received no monetary recompense for what she 
has done, and has always been willing to give 
me her services freely in the cause of science. 
Her mediumship is absolutely beyond dispute, 
as many people, some of them well known, are 
able with certainty to say. However, she knows 
it is my duty to set at rest the minds of those 
who are afraid of unconscious mediumistic action 
and the like ; of those who, not having been 
able to attend her seances and see for them- 
selves what actually happens, wish to know what 
precautions have been taken, and what inde- 
pendent witnesses have to say. 

" Fig. 1 represents in plan the following : — 
" {a) The medium (M) and sitters (S . . . S) 
in position for the seance, the approximate 
diameter of the circle being 5 ft., the sitters 
seated on chairs ; the medium seated on a chair 
placed on top of a drawing-board fastened to the 



22 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

platform of a weighing-machine. The square 
round the circle for the medium represents the 
weighing-machine. X is my position with 



© 



® 



Stool 



© 



Fig. 1. 



® ® 



® 



reference to the medium, close to her right side. 
The weighing-machine was one of Avery's latest 
patterns, new, tested before being sent to me, 
tested by me before use, reading to 4 cwt., and 
sensitive to less than 2 oz. 

" (b) The light (L), an ordinary gas jet burn- 
ing in a box behind |red glass, the box being 



PRELIMINARY REMARKS 28 

placed on a mantelpiece about 4 ft. high, and in 
the approximate position shown. The visibility- 
was such that from my position I could clearly 
see each sitter. 

(c) In the centre of the circle the stool, with 
whose levitation we are concerned. It was a 
small wooden one weighing 2 lb. 12 oz. 

" (d) Two observers marked O, O standing out- 
side the circle, behind it, on the side opposite to me. 

" Time of Experiment. — About an hour from 
opening of seance, with psychic energy at a 
maximum. 

^^ Preliminary Arrangement. — Sitters unclasped 
hands and sat with hands on knees. Medium 
seated upright on chair on weighing-machine, 
with her feet close together on drawing-board 
(which was tied to platform of machine) and 
a hand, palm downwards, flat on each knee. 
Medium and machine completely isolated from 
other members of the circle. My instructions 
to her were to remain perfectly still. Having 
placed her in position, I carefully took the 
combined weight of medium, chair, and drawing- 
board. It was 9 St. 10 lb. 12 oz. The steelyard 
was just on the quiver. I placed the stool in 
the centre of the circle on the floor and came 
back and stood by the medium. 

" Instructions to Operators. — To levitate the 
stool as high as possible and to keep it levitated 
until I desired it to be lowered. 

" The Phenomenon. — The stool immediately 
rose vertically into the air, until its height, at 



24 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

a conservative estimate, was 4 ft. above the 
floor. It obligingly rose just opposite the light, 
so that I could see plainly over it, beyond it 
on each side, and under it. I placed my head 
close to that of my medium, and saw that the 
legs of the stool were just about on a level with 
the top of her head. 

'^Effect on the JVeighing- Machine. — Immedi- 
ately the stool levitated the lever of the weighing- 
machine rose with a click, plainly audible, against 
the top stop of the machine, indicating that the 
medium's weight had been increased. I adjusted 
the rider so that the lever again just balanced. 

" Control of Medium, — I placed my hand on 
the medium's right arm near the shoulder, passed 
it down her arm to her wrist, felt both wrists 
on her knees, and her knees and lower limbs 
perfectly still, as I had placed them. (The only 
difference was that her arms during the levita- 
tion were rigidly stiiF — a characteristic of all 
levitations.) This I did two or three times. I 
could also, of course, see the medium, as, the 
stool being so small and so high in the air, 
practically no shadows were cast. While I 
was doing this I kept looking at the stool, 
which remained nearly immovable about 4 ft. 
up in the air. While my hand was controlling 
her arm and knees, I carefully looked round 
every member of the circle and saw that all 
hands were accounted for, each on the owner's 
knees. The nearest edge of the levitated stool 
was at least 3|^ ft. from the medium's knees. 



PRELIMINARY REMARKS 25 

It is to be remembered that the stool was 
floating on a level with the heads of the sitters. 

" Instructions to Operators. — When the stool 
had been thus up for about 1^ minutes, and every- 
body had examined it, I asked the operators to 
move it gently up and down in the air. 

'' Ejfect on Weighing- Machine. — The lever 
went gently up and down against the stop in 
synchronism with the up-and-down movement 
of the stool. Everybody saw the up-and-down 
motion of the stool in the air quite plainly. 
Everybody could plainly see over, under, and 
all round the stool. 

"The stool became steady in the air again. 
Finally, when I had examined it to my heart's 
content, and also the members of the circle 
and the medium, 1 asked the operators to 
lower the stool gently to the floor. This they 
immediately did, the stool slowly descending 
and softly touching the floor. 

'^^ Effect on Weighing- Machine. — Lever im- 
mediately fell against bottom stop, indicating 
decreased weight of medium. 

" Weighing-machine readings : — 

Weight of medium -l- chair 

4- board before levitation = 9 st. 10 lb. 12 oz. 
Weight of medium + chair 

+ board during steady 

levitation . . . = 9 st. 13 lb. 10 oz. 

Increased weight of medium = 2 lb. 14 oz. 

Weight of stool . . =^ 2 lb. 12 oz. 



26 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

" General. — The space between the medium 
and the levitated stool was not dark. I have 
been careful to understate rather than to over- 
state. 1 invite anyone to say where the fraud 
was in this particular case. If letters be kindly 
sent to me, care of Editor, I will go into any 
of the points raised. I would warn amateurs, 
however, that their explanations must cover at 
least 50 per cent, of the facts, including the 
results on the weighing-machine.'' 

1 wish to add finally that I fully satisfied 
myself, during each of the experiments described 
in this book, there was absolutely no fraud, and 
that the phenomena were due to the action of 
psychic force alone. 



CHAPTER II 

PHONOGRAPH RECORD OF THE NOISES 

Experiment 1 : Using a phonograph to verify 
the objective character of the noises. 

A matter that required attention at the very 
beginning of the investigation was the question 
of the objective character of the phenomena. 
For one Une of argument against the reaUty of 
psychic phenomena is to ascribe them to false 
sense-impressions received during a species of 
hypnotic trance induced by the pecuhar condi- 
tions of the seance-room. Its advocates have it 
that the brain of man is so complex, so relatively 
unexplored, and so subject to deception, that 
it is incapable of dealing in simple fashion with 
psychic occurrences. In other words, the raps, 
knocks, levitations, and other manifestations are 
not objective but are hallucinatory effects pro- 
duced on the subjective consciousness. This 
kind of argument, however, as the result of the 
great number of observations being continually 
made, and the common sense of the people who 
make them, as well as by reason of our advance 

27 



28 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

in the knowledge of the laws of hypnotism, is 
losing most of its grip. Almost everybody who 
studies psychic phenomena is convinced, by the 
evidence of his senses, of their objective reality. 
Various pieces of apparatus have been devised 
in the past to render this objectivity certain. 
Flashlight photographs have been taken of 
levitated tables. Movements due to psychic 
action have been recorded automatically. There 
is therefore little ground for any such hypothesis 
as that of collective hallucination. Nevertheless, 
I thought it wise to perform one experiment 
to satisfy myself that the noises — raps, knocks, 
blows, shufflings, and so forth — were really objec- 
tive sounds and not figments of the imagination. 
In order to accomplish this I made use of the 
phonograph. 

I recognised that the taking of a satisfactory 
phonographic record would be a somewhat 
difficult matter, as the experimenter would 
have to submit to the hard-and-fast condi- 
tions of the seance-room, and would be un- 
able, in any appreciable degree, to modify these 
conditions to his own advantage. I therefore 
called upon Mr T. Edens Osborne, who deals in 
large quantities of phonographs, and who knows 
as much about such instruments as any man in 
Belfast, and together we made some experiments 
in a small uncarpeted room at the top of his 
premises. We found that with the phonograph 
on the floor (it was an Edison " Standard ") rough 
imitations of raps made with the handle of a pen- 



PHONOGRAPH RECORD OF THE NOISES 29 

knife came fairly clear, so long as the origin of 
the sounds was not more than a foot or so dis- 
tant from the recording trumpet. We experi- 
mented for a considerable time, trying variations 
of height of the phonograph, and variations in 
character and position of the noises. Then I 
spoke a few words into the machine to the effect 
that I took the record (to follow) on 11th June 
1915, and giving the name of the medium. This 
occupied only a short length of the cylinder, and 
the remainder was left blank. 

The seance was held at eight o'clock on the 
evening of the date mentioned. The instrument 
was taken to the seance-room and placed on 
the floor in front of the seance-table, which 
was itself just in front of the medium (the table 
was afterwards removed). I placed some folded 
newspapers under it to deaden any vibration that 
might be caused by the more intense blows to 
be anticipated when the phenomena were in full 
operation. Then I inserted the cylinder above 
alluded to. The red gaslight was turned on and 
the seance commenced. In the usual way, slight 
raps were soon given in the vicinity of the 
medium, which quickly increased in intensity 
and volume. I may mention that the operators 
appeared to know all about this particular seance 
and its object, and had seemingly made prepara- 
tions for it and were even keenly interested in 
it. At the suggestion of one of the circle, I 
explained to them the mechanism of the phono- 
graph. This, however, did not appear to be 



30 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

altogether necessary. Then I asked for a re- 
hearsal. This was immediately given — a little 
of everything in the way of knocks ; and in 
addition, a small hand-bell was unexpectedly 
taken up and rung, which finally satisfied me 
that I had not much to tell the invisible entities 
as to what was required of them on this particular 
occasion. Then the question of time came in, 
and I found that the operators were not accur- 
ately able to gauge the minute and a half which 
was to be allowed them on each record. Accord- 
ingly, as a rough guide, a time duration of a 
minute and a half was measured to them by a 
watch. I then asked them to give a rap when 
they were ready for me to enter the circle (I 
recognised that 1 was ignorant of the psychic 
conditions obtaining within the circle, and I 
have made it an invariable rule always to let 
the operators arrange matters to suit themselves 
before carrying out an experiment, so long as 
the conditions I imposed were not broken). In 
five minutes or so, the summoning knock being 
heard, I moved into the circle, placed the re- 
corder on the cylinder, and put my finger on 
the starting-lever. I then asked the operators 
if all was ready, and on their replying by three 
raps in the affirmative I called out, " Start." 
Immediately a thunderous blow resounded on 
the floor and I started the machine. Half a 
dozen sledge-hammer blows, varieties of double 
and treble knocks, and shufflings like sand-paper 
rubbing the floor were given in succession ; the 



PHONOGRAPH RECORD OF THE NOISES 81 

hand-bell was lifted and rung ; the legs of the 
table were raised and knocked on the floor ; the 
sound of wood being apparently sawn was heard ; 
and so on. They kept up this terrific noise 
until I called out, " Stop " ; when, at the word, 
perfect silence reigned. We then tried the 
record, and found that most of the noises had 
been recorded ; but the bell, owing to its being 
rung too far away, was almost inaudible. I 
therefore suggested to the operators that they 
should ring the bell right in the middle of the 
circle and as near the trumpet of the phono- 
graph as possible, and I promised not to upset 
their conditions of equilibrium by attempting 
to touch it. Accordingly, during the taking 
of the next record the bell was rung within 
an inch or two of my hand, and so close to 
the trumpet that it accidentally touched it and 
knocked it off the instrument. This partly 
spoiled the record. 

In all, three good records and the partly 
spoiled one were taken, and these show beyond 
dispute, as was anticipated, that the sounds are 
ordinary objective sounds. Of course, the volume 
and intensity of the reproduced sounds are as 
nothing to the original ones, and the bell comes 
out only faintly ; but they are all there, and 
on these four records we have, although in 
greatly diminished strength, nearly the whole 
gamut of phenomenal noises produced at the 
circle. The actual noises are said to have been 
the loudest ever given at the circle, and were 



32 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

heard quite easily two stories down, and even 
outside the house. 

I append the following note by the Editor 
which appeared in Light of 7th Aug. 1915 : — 

*' It will be remembered that in Light of 
June 26th last (p. 304) Dr Crawford described 
an experiment in which he had taken phono- 
graph records of the raps, bell-ringing, and other 
sounds produced at the seances for the physical 
phenomena which he is investigating. On Thurs- 
day, 29th ult., Mr Horace I^eaf, who has re- 
cently visited Ireland, called upon us with one 
of the records kindly sent by Dr Crawford, and 
this was tested on a phonograph — the various 
sounds (with the exception of the bell-ringing, 
which was very faint) being clearly audible. 

" Dr Crawford has thus proved to the satis- 
faction of himself and his fellow-investigators 
that the noises produced are objective sounds 
and not the result of collective hallucination — 
an important matter to the scientific investigator 
who desires to check his results at every step." 

At lectures in Belfast and Dublin I have 
made use of the records for demonstration 
purposes. The sounds recorded are quite 
clearly audible in a hall holding up to five 
hundred people. 

The matter is referred to in the following 
extract from the hish Times of 13th March 
1916:— 

"A meeting of the Dublin Section of the 
Psychical Research Society was held on Saturday 



PHONOGRAPH RECORD OF THE NOISES 33 

evening in the Mills' Hall, Marion Row. The 
Rev. E. Savill Hicks presided. Dr W. J. 
Crawford, of Belfast, gave a lecture on some 
experiments which have been conducted in 
Belfast during the past couple of years. He 
described how seven persons, all very religious 
people, sat from time to time in an attic, where 
there was no furniture but a plain wooden table 
and the chairs they sat on. The experiments 
had been conducted in good light and under 
the best conditions, and had been verified by 
instrumental means. A phonograph had been 
used to take a record of the raps that were heard 
on the table. (These raps were reproduced on 
an instrument here for the benefit of the 
audience.) The lecturer told how the table had 
been lifted and held suspended in the air for 
nearly five minutes, and how it defied the 
strength of a man to prevent the levitation. A 
stool had been lifted and a bell had been rung 
in the same mysterious way. Sometimes the 
* raps' were as loud as the blows of a sledge- 
hammer, and could be heard outside the house. 
The object of the whole research, he said, was 
to find, if possible, the laws underlying the phe- 
nomena. Investigation had been going on for 
two years, and had not yet been concluded," 



CHAPTER III 

REACTION DURING LEVITATION OF THE TABLE 

One of the first questions I asked myself when 
I decided to undertake a series of experiments 
was, naturally, the whereabouts of the seat of 
the reaction during levitation of the table. 1 
had seen the table floating in the air, as it were, 
off and on for a period of over a year, and often 
I had wondered if the reaction was on the floor 
immediately below the table, or if it was on the 
medium herself, or if, indeed, it was located in 
neither of these positions. At that date I had 
not the slightest idea where I would find it, and 
any theorising I did usually ended in placing it 
in a different position on each occasion. Indeed, 
I do not desire to conceal the fact that even 
after eighteen months' observation I felt entirely 
ignorant of the mechanics of the whole pheno- 
menon, the consequence being that I had at 
first to follow the " hit-or-miss " principle, 
trusting to luck that I might alight on some- 
thing which would put me on the right track. 
I decided, therefore, that the best thing to do 
would be to seat the medium on the platform 

u 



REACTION DURING LEVITATION 35 

of a weighing-machine and see what would 
happen to her weight when the table was 
levitated. I did not know if the placing of the 
medium on the weighing-machine would inhibit 
the levitation, and I did not know at that period 
if the breaking of the chain formation of the 
circle, i.e. the unclasping of hands and placing 
them on the knees (for it is obvious that it 
would be useless to take readings of the 
medium's weight unless she was completely 
isolated from the sitters on each side of her), 
would likewise prevent the phenomenon. I had 
to trust to luck in these things. 

Before describing as carefully as I can the 
experiments I made in an endeavour to ascertain 
the seat of the reaction, I will briefly state, even 
at the risk of recapitulation, the motions I have 
observed — and often observed — with regard to 
the levitated table. The table may be steadily 
stable, i.e. it may remain fixed practically im- 
movable in the air without apparent support, 
for a minute or more. I do not think I have 
ever observed the table absolutely immovable 
over this period of time ; there have always 
been minute movements and tremors in it ; 
but for practical purposes it can be suspended, 
as it were, so as to be at rest. Then while 
levitated it can be moved up and down in a 
vertical line, and it can be moved to and fro 
practically horizontally (this latter motion is, 
however, not exactly a true one in a horizontal 
plane, for the table seems to be moved more 



36 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

or less with its base as a pivot). Then the 
table may rock about in the air exactly like 
a boat pitching on a somewhat stormy sea, the 
analogy being so close that the observer can 
almost visualise the " waves " beneath it. There 
are also various other movements which I have 
often observed, such as a to-and-fro motion in 
the air with one end steadily tilted, and so on, 
but for the purposes of the experiments those 
mentioned above are the most important. And 
it is to be remembered that any of these various 
movements can be obtained at will, i,e. the 
experimenter has only to ask the operators for 
the particular motion he wishes, and it is given 
immediately. 

The Apparatus. — A platform weighing- 
machine ; a drawing-board ; some string ; four 
tables. 

The platform weighing-machine was kindly 
lent me by Messrs W. & T. Avery, Ltd. It 
is known as the light, portable, platform type, 
and an illustration is given herewith (fig. 2). 
It reads up to 4 cwt. and is sensitive to less 
than 2 oz., although the smallest movement of 
the rider is equivalent to exactly 2 oz. The 
machine was quite new, and was, of course, 
tested by the makers for accuracy before being 
sent to me. The dimensions of its platform 
were 22 in. by 17 in. 

The drawing-board was an ordinary wooden 
one of half-imperial size, viz. 24 in. by 18 in., 
about an inch thick. I placed this upon the 



REACTION DURING LEVITATION 37 

platform of the weighing-machine, for I con- 
sidered the dimensions of the platform were 
rather small for the work in hand. 




Fig. 2. 



The string was used to'^fix loosely the drawing- 
board to the back-rail of the machine to prevent 
it falling if I required to move the machine 
about the room. The vertical distance from 



^J 



38 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

the floor to the top surface of the drawing- 
board was approximately 7 in. 

The particulars of the tables used were as 
follows : — 

Table 1. — The ordinary rectangular deal 
seance-table ; four straight legs ; surface, 24 in. 
X 17 in. ; dimensions outside legs, 17^ in. x 
15^ in. ; height, 2 ft. 5 in. ; area of surface, 
408 sq. in. ; area of base, 271 sq. in. ; weight, 
10 lb. 6 oz. This was the table used for a 
variety of experiments besides the particular 
ones I am describing now, and when I hence- 
forth refer to the seance-table I mean this 
one. 

Table 2. — Octagonal bamboo table ; four legs ; 
length of octagonal edge, 7^ in. ; dimensions 
outside legs, 12 in. x 12 in. ; height, 27^ in. ; area 
of surface, 271 sq. in. ; area of base, 144 sq. in. ; 
weight, 6 lb. 

liable 3. — Bamboo table for holding orna- 
ments. Besides the ordinary surface it had an 
underleaf for supporting a flower-pot ; four legs ; 
top surface, 17 in. x 17 in. ; lower surface, 9^ in. x 
9|^ in. ; dimensions outside legs, 12 in. x 12 in. ; 
height, 2 ft. 5 in. ; area of top surface, 289 sq. in. ; 
area of lower surface, 90 sq. in. ; area of base, 1 44 
sq. in. ; weight, 6 lb. 4 oz. 

Table 4. — More strictly, a rectangular wooden 
stool ; four legs ; surface, 12f in. x 13f in. ; dimen- 
sions outside legs, 8 in. x 8 in. ; height 11^ in. ; 
area of surface, 175 sq. in. ; area of base, 64 sq. 
in. ; weight, 2 lb. 12 oz. 



KEACTION DURING LEVITATION 39 

The experiments on reaction were not com- 
pleted at one seance, but were done in three 
stages at three different sittings ; which method, 
it seems to me, is helpful in eliminating sources 
of error that might go undetected on any single 
occasion. 

Method. — I placed a table on the floor in the 
centre of the circle, and seated the medium on a 
chair placed on top of the drawing-board, which 
rested on the platform of the weighing-machine. 
Her feet were planted firmly on the surface of 
the board. The circle held each other's hands in 
chain order for half an hour or so with the object 
of allowing the seance to be well started and 
psychic energy to be fully developed. At the 
end of that time I asked the members of the 
circle to unclasp hands and to place them firmly 
on their knees. I personally placed the medium's 
hands squarely on her knees and saw that each 
sitter had his or hers similarly fixed. I told the 
medium to sit perfectly still during the experi- 
ment, and this she did, not perceptibly moving 
throughout the tests. She was then physically 
isolated from all the members of the circle. 
During all the experiments I stood quite close 
to her at her right side. 

I describe the tests from notes taken at the 
time. The reader must be prepared for a certain 
amount of recapitulation; but as experiments 
such as these on levitation under such ideal 
conditions can so rarely be carried out, and as 
therefore all details and data concerning them 



40 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

should in my opinion be carefully preserved, I 
do not think it is necessary to apologise. In 
other classes of scientific research 1 would not 
think of publishing details so much alike, but in 
psychic work we are far removed from all the 
ordinary scientific conventions. 

Experivient 2 : Reaction on the medium during 
levitation. 

The table used was No. 1 (the ordinary seance- 
table, see p. 38). I accurately balanced the 
weight of medium, chair on which she was sitting, 
and drawing-board. The medium sitting per- 
fectly still, I asked the operators to levitate the 
table and keep it as steadily levitated as they 
possibly could, i.e. without up-and-down or to- 
and-fro motion, while I was making my observa- 
tions. Immediately on request the table rose 
about 8 in. into the air in an approximately 
horizontal plane (the levitations in general varied 
from about 8 in. to 12 in. in height, though in 
the case of the stool much higher results were 
obtained), and became to all appearance quite 
steady in the air. As soon as I was satisfied 
that all was right and that the medium was 
sitting perfectly still as 1 had placed her, I 
examined the weighing-machine. The steelyard, 
which before the levitation was just on the 
balance, was now hard up against the top stop. 
I moved the rider along until it again just 
balanced. The following are the readings : — 



9 St. 4 lb. 14 


oz. 


10 St. lb. 


10 


oz. 


9 1b. 


12 


oz. 


10 lb. 


6 


oz. 



REACTION DURING LEVITATION 41 

Weight of medium + chair 

+ drawing-board before 

levitation 
Weight of medium + chair 

+ drawing-board during 

steady levitation 
Increase in medium's weight 

due to levitation 
Weight of table 

Conclusion. — The increase in weight of the 
medium due to levitation is 10 oz. short of the 
weight of table. 

Notes. — The levitation was as nearly perfect 
as could be, and time was not a factor, as I had 
concluded my observations and there were no 
signs of the table descending. I had, in fact, 
to inform the operators that I had finished and 
to ask them to drop the table, which they 
did suddenly, so that it reached the floor with 
a crash. 

Experiment 3 : Reaction on medium during 
levitation. 

The table used was No. 1 (the ordinary seance- 
table). The method was exactly the same as 
in Experiment 2, but the date was some weeks 
later. The following were the readings : — 

Weight of medium -I- chair 
4- drawing-board before 
levitation . . . = 9 st. 4 lb. oz. 



42 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

Weight of medium + chair 

+ drawing-board during 

steady levitation . . = 10 st. lb. 8 oz. 
Increase in medium'sweight 

due to levitation . . = 10 lb. 8 oz. 

Weight of table . . = 10 lb. 6 oz. 

Weight of medium + chair 

+ drawing-board at end 

of experiment . . = 9 st. 4 lb. oz. 

Conclusion. — The increase in the medium's 
weight due to levitation is 2 oz. in excess of 
the weight of the table. 

Notes. — At the conclusion of the test it will be 
seen that I again took the dead weight of medium 
4- chair + drawing-board, and that I found no 
alteration. There seems from this case to be no 
doubt that during levitation the medium increases 
in weight by an amount practically equal to the 
weight of the table. In Experiment 2 her in- 
creased weight was 10 oz. short of the weight of 
the table. But during that experiment the full 
circle was present, and on this occasion Master 
Sam Goligher was absent on holiday ; so that in 
the former case some or all of the 10 oz. may 
have been upon him, or the difference may have 
been due to experimental errors. 

Eocperivient 4 : Reaction on the medium during 
levitation. 

The tables used were Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4 in 
rotation, and the date was some weeks later 



REACTION DURING LEVITATION 



43 



than for Experiment 3. The method used was 
much the same, the only difference being that 
as soon as I had obtained the result for one 
table I removed it from the centre of the circle 
and placed the next in its place, and so on. The 
following were the readings : — 

Weight of medium + chair 
+ drawing-board before 
levitation . . . = 9 st. 10 lb. 12 oz. 

(It will be noticed that the medium was increas- 
ing in weight during the interval of about three 
months separating Experiments 2 and 4.) 





Description. 


Weight of 
medium + chair 
+ board during 

levitation. 


Additional 

weight of 

medium 

due to 

levitation. 


Weight of 
table. 


1 
2 
3 
4 


Ordinary seance 
Octagonal bamboo . 
Ornamental , , 
Stool . 


10 St. 61b. 14oz. 

10 ,, 2 ,, 6 ,, 

10 „ 2 „10 „ 

9 „ 13 „10 „ 


10 lb. 2 oz. 
5 M 10 „ 
5 ,, 14 „ 
2 „ 14 „ 


10 lb. 8 oz. 
6 „ „ 

6 „ 4 „ 
2 „ 12 „ 



The dead weights given above for the tables 
were taken at the end of the seance, and tables 
2, 3, and 4 agreed absolutely in weight with 
values obtained on previous occasions, while 
table 1 was on this occasion 2 oz. heavier. 

Conclusion. — The weight of each levitated 
table is practically added to the weight of the 
medium. 

Notes. — All the levitations were as nearly 



44 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

perfect as possible, and were maintained as long 
as I desired. I was not in the least hurried 
over my observations. The levitation of the 
stool was the most spectacular case of the 
phenomenon I have seen. So high was the 
stool in the air, it is no exaggeration to say that 
if I had bent my head I could have walked 
right under it from one side of the room to 
the other. 

It is convenient to compare the results of 
Experiments 2, 3, and 4 by a percentage 
method. 



Table. 


Weight of 
table. 


Additional 

weight of 

medium during 

levitation. 


Percentage addi- 
tional weight 
of medium to 

weight of table. 


1, Experiment 2 
1, „ 3 

1, „ 4 

2, „ 4 

3, „ 4 

4, „ 4 


10 lb. 6 oz. 

10 „ 6 „ 

10 „ 8 ,, 

6 „ „ 

6 „ 4 „ 

2 „ 12 „ 


9 lb. 12 oz. 
10 „ 8 „ 
10 „ 2 „ 
5 „ 10 „ 
5 „ 14 „ 
2 „ 14 „ 


93-9 

101-2 

96-4 

93 7 

94 
104-5 



An average of the percentages in the last 
column of the tabulation gives for the six cases 
97*3 per cent, as the percentage of additional 
weight of medium to weight of table. 

The general conclusions from Experiments 
2, 3, and 4 are as follows : — 

A. When the table is steadily levitated, a 
weight is added to the medium very 
nearly equal to the weight of the table. 



REACTION DURING LEVITATION 45 

B. The seat of the reaction would therefore 

appear to be chiefly the medium herself. 

C. Taking an average over the six cases, the 

increased weight on the medium seems 
to be about 3 per cent, less than the 
weight of the levitated table. 

After having thus satisfied myself that the 
seat of the reaction was principally the medium, 
I wished to discover if the slight diminution of 
about 3 per cent, in weight indicated in con- 
clusion C was a real quantity or was simply due 
to experimental inaccuracies. First, let us take 
the sources of error likely to arise during the 
experiment. 

(1) Time. — There was no undue hurry in ob- 
taining any result. The table was always levi- 
tated for a much longer time than I required 
to leisurely carry out the experiment. In fact, 
in all six cases I had to ask the operators to 
drop the table at the conclusion of the test. 
A levitation lasting from two to three minutes 
gives ample time to obtain a fairly accurate 
balance on a weighing-machine. 

(2) Errors due to Table moving about slightly 
in the air. — This is a positive source of error, and 
has to be guarded against very carefully. Every 
movement in the air of the levitated table causes 
an alteration in the weight of the medium. I 
will consider this point in more detail presently. 
Meanwhile it is sufficient to say that during the 
six levitations recorded above the table was as 



46 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

steadily levitated as could be. No doubt there 
were little jerks and tremors, for, according to 
my observation, it is impossible to have perfectly 
immobile suspension ; but, if so, they were not 
apparent, and one could say that for all practical 
purposes the table was on each occasion perfectly 
at rest in the air. 

(3) Ordinary Eocperimental Errors. — These are 
fairly well guarded against by taking an average 
of several results. 

The question, then, as to whether the additional 
weight on the medium is a little less than the 
weight of the levitated table seems not so much 
a matter of experimental errors as of something 
due to some other cause. What this other cause 
is can be readily surmised. Do the other sitters 
in the circle, i.e. those exclusive of the medium, 
take any of the weight of the table ? While 
most of the reaction undoubtedly finds its seat 
upon the medium, is there a small part located 
upon the other sitters ? It is not an unreasonable 
supposition. A ccordingly I endeavoured to carry 
out an experiment to discover if there was any 
foundation for it. 

Ejoperiment 5 : To ascertain if any of the weight 
of the steadily levitated table was added 
to one of the members of the circle other 
than the medium. 

Method. — I experimented with Mr Morrison, 
whose place in the circle is on the immediate 
right of the medium. At nearly the conclusion 



REACTION DURING LEVITATION 47 

of the stance I seated Mr Morrison on the chair 
on the weighing-machine, and the medium took 
her ordinary chair. All hands being on their 
owners' knees, he was thus isolated from the 
medium and from all the sitters. I carefully 
took his weight + weight of chair and drawing- 
board. Then, having carefully balanced the 
machine, I asked the operators to levitate the table 
steadily in the ordinary way. This they did. 
The following were the readings (the table was 
the ordinary seance one, weight 10 lb. 6 oz.) : — 

Weight of Mr Morrison 

+ chair + board before 

levitation . . . = 10 st, 7 lb. 6 oz. 

Weight of Mr Morrison 

+ chair + board during 

steady levitation . . = 10 st. 7 lb. 8 oz. 

Difference . . . . 2 oz. 

The difference of 2 oz. here registered is too small 
for any conclusion to be drawn, but taken in con- 
junction with the following experiment would 
seem to place the result beyond dispute : — 

Experiment 6 : The result of Experiment 5 being 
inconclusive, to see if a vertical motion 
of table in the air would have any effect 
on Mr Morrison's weight while he was 
seated on the weighing-machine. 

Method. — With conditions as they were in 
Experiment 5, 1 asked the operators to jerk 



48 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

the levitated table up and down in the air, 
which they did. The steelyard of the weighing- 
machine, previously balanced, went up and down 
lightly against the stops in synchronism with 
the movements of the table. I repeated the 
experiment several times until I was perfectly 
sure of the result. 

Conclusion. — A very small part of the reaction 
of the levitated table is located upon Mr Mor- 
rison. By inference, therefore, a small part of 
the reaction is located on all or on several of the 
sitters exclusive of the medium. 

I therefore draw the complete conclusion from 
the results of Experiments 2 to 6, that when the 
table is steadily levitated, the reaction falls to the 
extent of at least 95 per cent, upon the body of 
the medium, and that a very small proportion, 
not more than 5 per cent., is distributed over the 
bodies of the other sitters. As Admiral Moore 
suggests, when a table is steadily levitated the 
effect is precisely the same as it would be if the 
medium lifted it herself with her hands, aided 
by a very slight assistance from the members 
constituting the circle — say, the help that could 
be given by a force applied by one finger each. 
It is, however, to be remembered that Experiment 
6 does not show absolutely that each member 
actually helps in the levitation. One or more of 
them may be neutrals. Experiments 2 to 5 have 
dealt with a system in equilibrium, i.e. with the 
table steadily levitated in the air and as nearly 
without motion as possible. It is evident, how- 



REACTION DURING LEVITATION 49 

ever, that the apparatus used in those experiments 
was quite suitable for obtaining results — not so 
accurate, perhaps, but nevertheless of much 
value — when the table was purposely given 
various motions while suspended in the air, or 
while it was moved in various directions along 
the floor. The following results, therefore, have 
to do with alteration in the medium's weight due 
to such motions. It is to be remembered that 
if the particular movement of the table desired 
by the experimenter was a possible one, it was 
almost always immediately given by the operators 
on request. 

Eocperiment 7 : The effect on the medium's 
weight of levitated table jerking vertically 
up and down in the air. 

The table used was No. 1 (the ordinary stance 
table). 

Method. — The medium being seated quietly 
on the weighing-machine with hands on knees 
as in Experiment 2, I asked for steady levita- 
tion of the table, which was immediately given. 
The weight of the medium + chair + drawing- 
board before levitation was 9 st. 4 lb. During 
the period of steady levitation the combined 
weight was 10 st. lb. 8 oz. Having balanced 
the machine at this, I asked the operators to 
jerk the table (which up to then was steadily 
levitated) vertically upwards into the air. 
This they at once did, the table rising quickly 
from 6 in. to 8 in. into the air. I asked them 

4. 



50 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

to do it several times. The result was always 
the same. At each upward jerk of the table 
the steelyard of the weighing-machine rose 
and pressed against the top stop and then 
returned to its position of balance. 

I also asked the operators to let the table 
slowly sag vertically in the air, and to arrest its 
motion suddenly before it reached the floor. 
This they did several times. I found that this 
motion also synchronised with instantaneous and 
temporary increase of the medium's weight in 
addition to the increased weight due to steady 
levitation. 

Conclusion. — When the table is steadily 
levitated, the medium's weight is increased by 
an amount practically equal to the weight of 
the table. If the table is jerked up and down 
in the air, there is an additional instantaneous 
weight on the medium while the jerking is 
proceeding. 

Experiment 8 : The purpose was as in Experi- 
ment 7. 

Method. — As in Experiment 7. 

The table used was the ordinary seance table. 

The date of the experiment was some months 
later than the date of Experiment 7. 

While the table was being jerked up and 
down in the air, a temporarily increased weight 
(above that required for steady levitation) was 
on the medium. 



REACTION DURING LEVITATION 51 

Experiment 9 : The purpose was as in Experi- 
ment 7. 

Method. — As in Experiment 7. 

The table used was No. 4, the stool. 

The stool being steadily levitated, I asked the 
operators to move it vertically up and down in 
the air, which they did. The lever of the 
weighing-machine, previously balanced for in- 
creased weight of medium due to steady levita- 
tion, went up against top stop in synchronism, 
fell to bottom stop, rose to top stop again, and 
so on during the period of time in which the 
stool was in motion. The result was identical 
with the results of Experiments 7 and 8, although 
there was one point of variation in the method 
which was noticeable. It was this : the motion 
of the seance table (weight 10 lb. 6 oz.) caused 
vigorous temporary movements of the steelyard 
against the stops, while the motion of the 
stool (weight 2 lb. 12 oz.) caused movements 
which, although quite apparent, were feeble in 
comparison. 

Besides the cases given in Experiments 7, 8, 
and 9, I have often at other times during my 
experimental work observed the effect on the 
medium's weight of tables 1, 2, 3, and 4 moving 
up and down vertically in the air. The result 
in all such cases was as stated above. 

The following results arose out of the very 
complete Experiment 4. They were observed 
before and after the main results were obtained. 



52 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

Each was carefully verified at the time and on 
many subsequent occasions. I am designating 
each particular observation a separate experi- 
ment for the purpose of facilitating references. 

Experiment 10 : Movement of table along the 
floor. 

At the commencement of the levitation experi- 
ments, the position of the table (No. 1) within 
the circle as I had placed it evidently did not 
suit the operators, for it was gently pulled along 
the floor until apparently the exact place desired 
was reached. The medium was at the time 
seated on the weighing-machine with hands on 
knees and body perfectly still, and the steelyard 
was balanced for her dead weight, weight of 
chair and of drawing-board. While the gentle 
shifting of the table was in progress, the steel- 
yard rose up against the top stop and remained 
there while the movement was going on, and 
fell as soon as it was over. This indicated, of 
course, that during the movement of the table 
along the floor the medium's weight underwent 
an increase. By my sense of touch on the end 
of the steelyard I judged that the increase of 
weight on the medium was from 3 to 4 lb., 
which would be about the magnitude of the 
force required to move the table along the floor 
against friction. 



REACTION DURING LEVITATION 53 

Experiment 11 : Various movements of table. 

The table used was the ordinary seance one 
(weight 10 ]b. 6 oz.). I placed it on the floor 
within the circle. Having balanced the weigh- 
ing-machine at the value due to the weight 
of mediunH- chair + drawing-board, I asked the 
operators to produce various movements of 
the table from slight shiftings and tiltings up to 
full levitation, in order to enable me to note 
roughly the effects on the medium's weight. 
Results were as follows : — 

{a) Table tilted steadily on two legs (two legs 
on the floor and two in the air) : medium's 
weight increased. 

(h) Table tilted higher than in (a) : alteration in 
amount of increased weight. 

(c) Table tilted with three legs in the air and 

one on the floor : further alteration in 
amount of increased weight. 

For (a), (b), and (c) I did not read the values 
of the amount of additional weight on the 
medium, due to the tiltings, on the scale of the 
steelyard, but I balanced the steelyard on each 
occasion with the rider. None of these addi- 
tional amounts of weight reached the magnitude 
of the weight of the table. 

(d) The table was given translational movements 

along the floor ; it was also moved rota- 
tionally 30 degrees or so over the floor: 
in all these cases the weight of the 



54 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

medium was increased during the time 
of the movement. 

Conclusion. — It is certain that each movement 
of the table produces increased weight on the 
medium, whether it be levitation, partial levita- 
tion, or movement along the floor; and with 
regard to movements which require a psychic 
opposition to the force of gravity, the increased 
weight may be anything up to the approximate 
weight of the table, according to the degree of 
levitation, whether it be partial or complete. 

Experiment 12 : Inference that levitation is 
in progress by observing the weighing- 
machine. 

Having set the weighing-machine to balance 
at the dead weight of medium + chair -}- drawing- 
board, I several times purposely kept my eyes 
away from the table and fixed them on the 
steelyard of the machine. As soon as the 
steelyard rose against the top stop I would look 
around and either find the table levitated or 
partly levitated ; i.e. by observing when increased 
weight was on the medium I was always certain 
by that fact alone to find a levitation in progress. 

Experiment 13 : Table tilted on two legs. 

On one occasion, at the end of a seance, the 
operators unexpectedly tilted the seance table 
on two legs and kept it in that position for a 
minute or so while the closing prayer was being 



REACTION DURING LEVITATION 55 

pronounced. As the medium was at the time 
seated on the weighing-machine, I noticed that 
her weight, as evidenced by the steelyard press- 
ing up tightly against top stop, was greatly in- 
creased, although I did not take the amount of 
the increase. 

To find the effect on the medium's weight 
when the table was moved along the floor in 
given directions : — 

Eocperiment 14 : The table pulled along the 
floor towards medium. 

Having balanced weight of medium, chair, and 
drawing-board as in previous experiments, I 
asked the operators to gently pull in the table 
directly towards medium. 

Result. — While table was moving in towards 
medium from somewhere near the centre of the 
circle, the steelyard rose and kept pressed 
against the top stop, thus indicating that during 
that time her weight was increased. 

Eocperiment 15 : The table pushed along the 
floor directly away from medium. 

The operators at request moved the table 
gently along the floor directly away from 
medium. 

Result. — As in Experiment 14, a continuous 
increase of weight of medium during the progress 
of the movement. 

The general conclusion from Experiments 6 
to 15 seems to be that all motions of the table 



56 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHEMONENA 

whatever along the floor and all movements of 
the table in the air cause temporary increase of 
the medium's weight. In other words, forces 
which would be required in the ordinary way to 
accomplish these movements are reflected some- 
how or other on the body of the medium. 

The Distance of the 3Iediiim from the Table. — 
I have already mentioned (Experiment 10) 
that the distance of the table from the medium 
seems to be an important factor during levita- 
tion. It is a mistake to assume that the closer 
the medium to the table the easier and quicker 
will the phenomenon occur. There seems to be 
a critical distance at which the best result takes 
place. For, under the mistaken notion that the 
closer the medium the better the result, I con- 
tracted the circle on several occasions when 
I required extra-powerful phenomena, i.e. I 
diminished the diameter of the circle by making 
the members sit closer together. But before any 
table phenomena occurred, the medium's chair 
(with the medium on it) was pulled or pushed 
back bodily along the floor for a distance of 
about a foot. This extraordinary phenomenon 
I have witnessed on many occasions. It tempts 
one to ask where the reaction can possibly be in 
such a case. I hope some time in the future to 
investigate it more fully. 

On other occasions, with the normal diameter 
of circle, if the table happened to be too close to, 
or too far from, the medium, it would be pulled 
along the floor until the distance for levitation 



REACTION DURING LEVITATION 57 

was apparently correct. I have witnessed this 
preHminary movement of the table along the 
floor dozens of times ; in fact, it is not too much 
to say that it takes place just previously to every 
levitation, for the experimenter, when he places 
the table on the floor, hardly ever seems to 
strike the exact place desired by the operators. 
As small a distance as an inch or two seems to 
make a difference. 

I was rather amused on one occasion when I 
was engaged on some rather delicate levitation 
experiments. I was inside the circle as usual, 
and, thinking from long experience that the table 
was not just in the proper spot for the pheno- 
menon, I moved it to the left for a distance of 
about six inches. No sooner had I done so than 
it was moved back by the operators to its original 
position. I thoughtlessly shifted it over again, 
and instantly it was again moved back. The 
fact was, of course, that the table happened in 
the first instance to be in the exact position 
desired by the operators, a thing which very 
seldom happened. 

Conclusions. — There is a critical distance in 
front of the medium, neither too close to her nor 
too far from her, at which levitation of the table 
occurs. If the distance is in the first instance 
incorrect, the table itself is moved by the operators 
if the disposition of the circle allows of it ; and if 
the disposition of the sitters does not allow of 
it, the medium and her chair are moved back 
bodily. 



58 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

The Height of the Levitation. — The height to 
which a levitated table rises above the floor is 
important from several points of view. As in 
the case of the distance of the table from the 
medium, there appears also to be a critical 
height, which I should put, by rough estimation, 
at about 8 in. from the floor, whereat the ex- 
penditure of psychic energy is a minimum ; for 
if levitation is asked for, 1 have noticed that the 
distance mentioned is about the usual rise given, 
at any rate with tables weighing from 6 to 10 lb. 
But if a specially high levitation is demanded, or 
if the operators are giving an ordinary general 
demonstration, on which occasions they seem to 
desire to produce the most spectacular results 
possible, the height may be greatly increased, 
especially towards the end of the seance. On 
such occasions I have seen the surface of the 
table shoulder-high. However, with high levita- 
tions there is not such a degree of steadiness 
as with low ones, the table generally twisting 
about with slow and sinuous motions this way 
and that. If we call the critical height about 
8 in. for the ordinary seance table (as it appears 
to be), i.e. the height at which a steady levitation 
can occur with surface of table approximately 
level, then I have often noticed that if I ask, 
say for experimental purposes, a higher levitation 
than this, the operators seem to have to put 
forth a distinct eiFort. If success results, the 
table is jerked, not slowly raised, to the height 
demanded, and during the time it is at this 



REACTION DURING LEVITATION 59 

extra height abnormal effort on the part of the 
operators seems to be necessary. The highest 
levitation I have ever seen was about 4 ft., 
which was the rise on one occasion in the case 
of table 4 (the stool, Experiment 4). It is 
certain that there is a maximum height beyond 
which levitation cannot occur ; that maximum, 
so far as 1 have observed, being, as mentioned, 
about 4 ft. above the floor. 

I have observed all sorts of freak levitations. 
For instance, on one occasion when the table 
had been levitated for about three minutes with 
the bottom of the legs about level with the knees 
of the sitters, the surface commenced gradually 
to incline about a horizontal axis, and continued 
to do so until it was nearly vertical ; then the 
table moved over, in the air, to the chair where 
I was sitting, rested the lower edge of its surface 
on my knees, and then moved back and dropped 
to the floor. 

Co7iclusion. — There seems to be a critical 
height at which the operators can produce most 
easily levitation of the table — or at anyrate a 
height at which they can obtain the steadiest 
and most prolonged form of the levitation. Any- 
thing above that height is a distinct effort. 



CHAPTER IV 

SOME MISCELLANEOUS EXPERIMENTS, OBSERVA- 
TIONS, AND CALCULATIONS 

Eooperimcnt 16 : Observation of levitation with 
calculation of upward pressure on under 
surface to account for it. 

The table used was the ordinary seance one. 
Top surface 24 in. x 17 in. ; height 2 ft. 5 in. ; 
weight lOf lb. ; material, deal (see Chapter III.). 

Time. — Near opening of seance, with psychic 
energy not fully developed. 

Commencement of Levitation. — Table shook, 
rose on two legs, dropped and rose on the other 
two, dropped and rose on one, fell back on two, 
jerked rapidly about, and finally rose unevenly 
but completely into the air, the end which was 
lower being continually pushed upwards in order, 
apparently, to get the surface level. After a 
little time the jerking ceased and table remained 
practically level and stationary in the air at a 
height of about 12 in. from the floor. 

Duration of Levitation. — 4 minutes 30 seconds, 
during about 4 minutes of which time the table 

60 



SOME MISCELLANEOUS EXPERIMENTS 61 

remained almost immovable in the air, a result 
evidently desired by the operators as indicative 
of their ability to maintain steady magnitude 
and direction of the psychic force. During the 
first minute the time was taken by calling out 
the seconds, one, two, three, etc., by guesswork, 
and for the remaining 3^ minutes or so by a 
watch ; the error may amount to a few seconds. 

The Psychic Pressure. — The table during the 
greater portion of the levitation was practically 
stationary in the air, with its surface nearly level. 
If we assume that the levitation is effected by a 
uniform upward pressure on the under surface, 
we may make the following calculations : — 

Weight of table . . =10flb. 

Area of under surface of table = 24 in. x 17 in. 

= 408 sq. in. 
Psychic pressure (approx.) =10fH-408 

= '025 lbs. per sq. in. 

This is of course quite a small pressure, and 
would be somev/hat difficult to detect by 
mechanical means. For the sake of argument 
1 am assuming that the pressure would be of 
the fluid type, though it is apparent that such 
a supposition is practically unthinkable. There 
is, moreover, good experimental reason to 
believe that the pressure, whatever its nature, 
is not applied to the table uniformly, but more 
or less over only a part of the under surface, 
evidenced, for instance, by the upward jerks 
given at any required corner during the com- 



62 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

mencement of levitation. Again, the pressure 
may be applied at two or three places on the 
under surface, or the single area over which it 
is exerted may be capable of altering its location 
on the under surface in order to get the resultant 
under the centre of gravity. Or again, there 
may be no force on the under surface at all, and 
the table may in that case be supported by an 
upward force under each leg (although this 
hypothesis is rather extravagant), or it may be 
held in position in the air by rods projecting 
from the medium and gripping some part of 
the legs ; or the levitation may even be brought 
about by an upward force from the top surface 
of the table. I mention all these suppositions 
so that the reader will understand I am not 
making assumptions light-heartedly. Each of 
them will be examined later on. Meanwhile 
the most reasonable hypothesis seems to be that 
there is some kind of an upward force below 
the surface of table, and it is useful to make 
calculations accordingly. 

Experiment 17 : Observation of levitation with 
calculation of upward pressure on under 
surface to account for it. 

The seance was held in my own house, in the 
drawing-room. 

The table used was a square-topped one with 
four curved legs, with a lower surface near the 
bottom of the legs. During the evening it was 
levitated many times, the longest period being 



SOME MISCELLANEOUS EXPERIMENTS 63 

certainly well over a minute (although I did 
not time it). 

Weight of table . . = 16 lb. 
Dimensions of top surface = 20 in. x 20 in. 
Height . . . .= 2 ft. 5 in. 

The psychic upward pressure, assuming it to be 
uniform as in the previous case, would then be 

16 -4- (20x20) = 16^400 

= '04 lb. per sq. in. 

It is therefore seen from the calculations that 
if we assume a uniform upward pressure on 
under surface of such tables as I have used in 
my experiments, the magnitude of that pressure 
is in all cases quite small, which fact I have 
found of some importance in working out the 
theory of levitation. The 16-lb. table of this 
test is the heaviest I have used during any of 
my experiments. 

Experiment 18 : Muscular force applied verti- 
cally downwards on top of levitated table. 

During one of the levitations referred to in 
Experiment 17, near the conclusion of the sitting 
(with psychic energy therefore at a maximum), 
and with the surface of the table nearly shoulder- 
high in the air, I entered the circle and pressed 
down with my hands on the top of the table. 
Although I exerted all my strength, I could 
not depress the table to the floor. A friend 
who is over six feet in height then leaned over 



64 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

the circle and helped me to press downwards, 
when our combined efforts exerted to the limit 
just caused it to touch the floor. The kind of 
resistance encountered was an elastic one. 

The table then stood up on two legs (with 
two legs in the air), and I used all my muscular 
force in an endeavour to depress the raised end, 
but I was quite unable to do so. It seemed as 
though a cushion of compressed air were below 
the raised portion. 

It will be noticed that the levitation I have 
described in Experiment 16 occurred near the 
commencement of the seance, and that there 
was a considerable amount of preliminary jerk- 
ing and jumping about of the table before true 
levitation took place {i.e. the whole table at 
rest in the air, with no part of it in contact with 
the floor or with any solid body whatsoever). 
According to my observations extending over 
two years, during which time I have seen 
hundreds of levitations under all conditions, 
levitations near the commencement of the sitting 
are nearly always of that type. It would seem 
that the psychic energy is not fully developed 
for half an hour or so after the opening, or at 
anyrate that the operators cannot work so 
easily as they can at a later period of the sitting. 
About an hour from the commencement I have 
on many occasions had a series of ideal levita- 
tions, with no initial jerks or movements of any 
kind whatsoever. It would seem that in such 
cases the operators had their adjustments accu- 



SOME MISCELLANEOUS EXPERIMENTS 65 

rate and complete, and that they did not require 
any preliminary trials such as are common at 
the beginning of the seance. 

The following is an exact account of ideal 
levitations I have on several occasions obtained 
near the conclusion of seances, with all con- 
ditions for the production of the phenomenon 
at their best, the mental harmony of the sitters 
perfect, their bodily health good, and all things 
seeming to flow with everybody and everything 
in the manner they sometimes do : — 

(1) The table is stationary on the floor within 

the circle. 

(2) I enter the circle and sit down beside the 

table. 

(3) I utter the word " Rise " (or equivalent word 

or words). 

(4) The table almost immediately rises three or 

four inches vertically into the air, without 
jerk or side movement or " fuss " of any 
kind, and remains fixed there without 
sensible motion (though doubtless there 
are a few unnoticed tremors). 

(5) At the conclusion of the experiment, lasting 

perhaps half a minute, I utter the word 
" Fall " (or equivalent word or words). 

(6) The table sinks gently to the floor. 

(7) The processes (1) to (6) may be gone through 

half a dozen times in succession at intervals 
of a minute or two. 

The reason for the instant response to the 

5 



66 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

words "Rise" and "Fall" was because of previ- 
ous arrangement with the operators, with the 
idea, on both sides, of economising words and 
explanations. 

Experiment 19 : The two kinds of resistance 
for a levitated table. 

The table used was the one referred to in 
Experiment 17, and the seance took place in my 
own house. During one of the powerful levita- 
tions I entered the circle and stood over the 
table. Endeavouring to press it down vertically 
to the floor, I felt an elastic resistance, as already 
described. I then thought of pushing it inwards 
towards the medium. I was much surprised to 
find that the resistance to push in that direc- 
tion was not an elastic one, but one of quite a 
different order. The resistance was a solid or 
rigid one, and, as a matter of fact, the table 
appeared to be "locked." As the results of this 
experiment are so important in the theory of 
levitation, it is necessary that the reader should 
be perfectly certain as to what I mean. 

In fig. 3, M is the medium, and T the levitated 
table. If the observer stands over the table and 
presses down in the direction A, he experiences 
a perfectly elastic resistance. If he presses in 
direction B, he experiences a solid and unyield- 
ing resistance. The actual direction of B I have 
not determined. It is not parallel to the surface 
of the table, but is downwards and inwards at 
some angle approximating to that shown. The 



SOME MISCELLANEOUS EXPERIMENTS 67 




N 



68 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

direction probably varies somewhat with the 
height of the levitation. So soHd and unyielding 
is the resistance in this direction that it gave me 
the impression that steel bars were connecting 
the table with the medium, and that T was push- 
ing along the longitudinal axes of such bars. 

Eooperiment 20 : Another test for the unyielding 
resistance of levitated table. 

The table used was the ordinary seance one. 
I pressed inwards in a direction approximating 
to B (fig. 3), and again experienced the rigid type 
of resistance. It felt exactly as though I was 
pushing against a solid rod which had gripped 
the table from the body of the medium. 

Experiment 21 : Overturning table to floor and 
raising it again. 

The table used was the ordinary stance one. 
For ordinary experimental work it stands on the 
floor with its long edge parallel to the front 
of the body of the medium. The operators 
were asked to overturn it on to its side and to 
raise it into its normal position again. They 
first shifted the table round until its short edge 
was more or less parallel to the front of the body 
of the medium, and then they gently tipped it 
up on two legs and gradually turned it about 
these two legs until it lay on its side on the floor. 
The whole thing was done quietly and without 
fuss. Then the opposite process commenced. 
The operators endeavoured to raise the table 



SOME MISCELLANEOUS EXPERIMENTS 69 

into its normal position. But it was obvious 
this process was a difficult one, and there was 
nothing gentle about it, the table being given, 
apparently at the lower edge, what appeared to 
be sudden shoves and pushes, most of which 
were not successful or only partly successful 
(in the latter case the edge was only raised a little 
from the floor). Finally a shove more powerful 
than the others, or delivered at a better spot, 
accomplished what was required, and the table 
was again upright and standing on its four legs. 

I have noticed that the table is, in this experi- 
ment, almost invariably turned over to the floor 
towards the left hand of the medium. I think 
there is a reason for choosing the left hand 
which I will refer to later on. I have observed 
the experiment at least a dozen times, and I saw 
it also on one occasion in my own house. We 
had formed an impromptu circle in a corner of 
the room. Only three members of the circle 
were present, including the medium. My wife, 
a young lady friend, and myself made up the 
circle, and a light bamboo table was placed 
in the centre. After a series of levitations, 
knocks, and so on, the table was turned over 
by the operators on its side, shifted about 
the floor until it was evidently just in the 
position required, then given one big heave 
which placed it upright on its feet. In this 
case there were no preliminary pushes or abor- 
tive shoves, for one movement accomplished the 
whole process. 



70 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

Experiment 22 : Increased and decreased weight 
of table standing on the floor. 

While the table was standing on the floor, I 
asked the operators to increase its weight. This 
they immediately did, for on trying to lift it 
I found it impossible or nearly impossible to do 
so. The table seemed to be glued to the floor. 
Likewise, on asking the operators to reduce the 
table's weight 1 found I could lift it by a muscu- 
lar eflbrt of a few ounces. That is, the operators 
can apparently increase or decrease the weight 
of the table at will. 

Experiment 23 : Table levitated upside down. 

This levitation was accomplished at the con- 
clusion of a seance at which I was carrying out 
some experiments on phosphorescence, fluores- 
cence, etc., for which purpose the room had been 
made perfectly dark. The levitation was therefore 
in complete darkness. So powerful was the levi- 
tating force that the table actually turned over 
and rose nearly a couple of feet into the air 
upside down, with the legs sticking upwards. I 
and three members of the circle each grasped a 
leg, and we tried to depress the table to the 
floor, but found it perfectly impossible. Further- 
more, the table moved up and down and to 
and fro in the air with such powerful motions 
that we, who had hold of it, might as well have 
tried to stop the movements of a locomotive. 



SOME MISCELLANEOUS EXPERIMENTS 71 

Experiment 24 : Table on floor upside down. 
Visitor invited to raise it. 

The ordinary seance-table, weight lOf lb., was 
used. It was placed on the floor upside down, 
and a muscular visitor to the circle was asked to 
catch hold of the legs and to raise it ; he was 
unable to do so. I do not think I have seen 
anybody yet succeed in this attempt, and I have 
watched many try. The table seems to be glued 
to the floor, or to be held to the floor by some 
kind of suction between surface and floor, although 
this is not the correct explanation, as I shall 
attempt to show later on. This little test is 
really a most remarkable one, and most import- 
ant and helpful in the forming of a satisfactory 
theory. 

Experiment 25 : Movements of table with ex- 
perimenter sitting on it. 

The table was standing on the floor. I sat 
upon it. The table was slid and jerked about 
the floor apparently with considerable ease, 
against obviously fairly large friction forces. I 
have seen many people other than myself sit 
upon the table and be thus moved about. A 
favourite experiment is to ask the visitor to sit 
steadily upon the table and to await calmly what 
shall happen. In a short time, usually inside a 
minute, the table gently rises on two legs and 
slides him ofl' to the floor. 



Ki 



72 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

Experiment 26 : Position in which tiie operators 
like the table to be placed when they 
desire to exert the greatest psychic force 
possible on it. 

I have watched the following process on many 
occasions. A visitor enters the circle and lays 
hold of the table, and is told by the sitters to do 
all he can to prevent it moving. If he is very 
muscular he may succeed for half a minute or 
so in preventing motion ; but sooner or later, 
usually sooner, the table eludes him and gets 
into motion, jerking this way and that, levitat- 
ing and dancing about in the air, and so on, and 
this in spite of the greatest restraining force he 
can exert. 

Now, when such a visitor enters the circle, 
what usually happens is that the table, before 
he touches it, or by its first movement after 
he touches it, rises on the two legs remote 
from the medium and at an angle of about 
40 degrees to the horizontal. It remains in 
this position for perhaps ten seconds, and 
then immediately afterwards the tussle begins. 
This preliminary rising on two legs at the 
stated angle is no mere chance movement. It 
has a deep significance. 

In fig. 4, M represents the medium and T the 
table tilted as explained. Does it not seem 
possible, nay, almost probable, that the reason 
for the initial tilt is to allow some projection 
from the medium to get the best grip possible 



SOME MISCELLANEOUS EXPERIMENTS 73 



on the under sur- 
face of the table, as 
indicated in the dia- 
gram? The object 
of the tilting would 
thus be to put the 
under surface of 
table at the inclina- 
tion most suitable 
for this projection to 
obtain the shortest 
and most powerful 
grip. The experi- 
menter may stand 
anywhere round the 
table except directly 
before the medium, 
and not interfere to 
any extent with the 
intensity of the 
phenomena ; but he 
may not stand be- 
tween medium and 
table. I do not wish 
to say anything more 
definite than the 
above at this point, 
but I would, even at 
this stage, draw the ^ 
reader's attention to 
the importance of 
the experiment. 




74 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

Experiment 27 : Adjustment of levitating force 
to suit an unsymmetrical loading of table. 

This experiment was not arranged by me, but 
was given spontaneously by the operators. I 
had brought a wooden box about 3 in. x 3 in. and 
9 in. high, containing an electric bell and dry 
battery, which 1 intended to use for another 
experiment. The weight of the box, which I 
placed on the table near the edge, was 3*8 lb. 
Suddenly levitation of the table unexpectedly 
began. Now, it is obvious that as the table 
weighed lOf lb., and the box 3*8 lb., the centre of 
gravity of the two was some distance from the 
centre of the table. The operators, however, 
managed to keep the surface of the table nearly 
level, and they accomplished this by strong up- 
ward jerks if one of the edges sagged. They 
did not seem able to gauge the position of the 
combined centre of gravity with any accuracy, 
and so uncongenial did the uneven distribution 
of weight seem to be that they tried to jerk the 
electric-bell box over to the centre of the table, 
but failed. 

JExperiment 28 : To see if the operators could 
ring an electric bell. 

An electric bell and dry cell were compactly 
fitted into a box (see Experiment 27), and the 
bell-push with contact button was fitted to the 
outside. The disposition of weight of the articles 
within the box, and the position of the push 



SOME MISCELLANEOUS EXPERIMENTS 75 



without, were so arranged that the bell could 
not be rung by human finger without knocking 
the box over ; i.e. in order to ring the bell the 
box would have to be held. Furthermore, the 
bell could only be rung by a force acting 
normally to button, for the wooden sleeve into 
which it fitted only allowed of in-and-out 
motion. Fig. 5 shows how the apparatus was 
arranged. 



Box 

conl-aininq 

Electric Bell 

and 

Dry cell 




.j asdrnta 



Direction 
of- 

Push 



Fig. 5. 



I placed the box on the floor near the medium, 
into what I conjectured was the strongest part 
of the psychic field. Then I asked the operators 
to ring the bell. After a little wait the box was 
shuffled here and there about the floor. Then 
the bell was rung for an instant. After a further 
wait it was rung again and for a slightly longer 
time. Afterwards it was more easily rung, and 
towards the end of the seance quite easily. The 
longest continuous ring was for about sixty 
seconds. The box remained upright the whole 



76 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

time. I was rather surprised that the operators 
evidently found some little difficulty at first in 
ringing the bell, but the reason was at anyrate 
partly apparent when I went into quantities. I 
found by experiment that the mechanical force 
required to cause electric contact was 0*8 lb. 
The area of the button v/as '246 sq. in., and 
(assuming uniform pressure) the psychic pressure 
was 0-8 -^ "246 = 3*24, say S^ lb. per sq. in., which 
was greatly in excess of the uniform pressure 
required to cause levitation of the table (the 
maximum value of the latter for my heaviest 
table was '04 lb. per sq. in. ; see Experiment 17). 
A peculiar fact about this test was that while 
the bell was ringing, the push-button was not 
directly facing the medium, but was nearly 
opposite me, or perhaps at an angle of about 
80° with the medium. The operators placed the 
box in this position themselves, so evidently it 
was in the most suitable place for the ringing 
of the bell. Perhaps the fact that, in order to 
prevent toppling over, the box had to be held 
from the back, had something to do with it. 

Expe7iment 29 : A small metal trumpet pulled 
when held in the hand. 

The circle possessed for demonstration pur- 
poses, and for "direct" voice manifestations 
should such occur, a small conical metal trumpet 
about 18 in. long, open at both ends, about 
2^ in. diameter at the large end and f in. at the 
small end. (See fig. 6.) 



SOME MISCELLANEOUS EXPERIMENTS 77 

I held this small trumpet firmly by the hand 
at its small end, with the big end pointing 
into the air near the medium, at an angle of 
about 30° to the horizontal. I asked the oper- 
ators to pull it. Nothing happened for some 




twenty seconds or so, and then suddenly it 
was given a strong forward jerk which almost 
snatched it from my grasp. Further trials 
gave similar results. The angular direction 
in which I held the trumpet seemed to make 
little difference. 



78 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

Experiment 30 : Attempt to prevent table re- 
turning to centre of circle from far end 
opposite the medium. 

Sometimes the table would move of itself to 
the edge of the circle opposite the medium. I, 
sitting outside the ring of sitters, w^ould then 
lay hold of it, and, exerting all my strength, 
vi^ould endeavour to prevent its return to the 
centre. I usually found this to be impossible. 
Some overwhelming force was evidently pulling 
in opposition — a force which appeared to be of 
the nature of a suction. 

Eocpeiiment 31 : A handkerchief placed on floor 
near medium. 

I placed an ordinary white handkerchief on 
the floor near the medium, and asked the 
operators to move it about the room. Although 
I left it there for nearly half an hour it did 
not move perceptibly. At the time this seemed 
very strange, as one would naturally think that 
such a light article as a handkerchief could be 
easily moved about, when solid tables weighing 
over 10 lb. could be levitated and moved over 
the floor at a much greater distance from the 
medium. 1 think I now know the reason for this 
negative result, and I will refer to it later on. 



CHAPTER V 

CONDITIONS ABOVE, UNDER, AND ROUND THE 
LEVITATED TABLE 

The experimenter, when he observes a table 
steadily at rest in the air, is confronted with a 
problem such as this : " How is the table 
supported ? " There is obviously nothing material 
supporting it, for the space above it, underneath 
it, and all round it, is empty of anything which 
in the ordinary course of events could keep it 
levitated. How then is the levitation accom- 
plished ? The obvious thing to do is to examine 
as carefully as possible the regions above, below, 
and all round the table in the hope that during 
the investigation some fact may be struck which 
either may completely solve the matter by itself, 
or which in conjunction with other and allied 
facts will solve it. My method in this research 
was to get as many facts together as possible 
and to deduce the most likely solution from 
them. 

The Region above the Levitated Table. — In my 
mind there is no doubt whatever that the region 
of space above the levitated table has nothing 

79 



80 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

to do with the levitation ; or if it has anything 
to do with it, it is only of very secondary im- 
portance. My reasons for this conclusion are 
as follows : — 

(1) An experimenter may enter the circle, 
may grasp the table from the top, may sit upon 
it, and in fact may do practically anything he 
likes so long as he keeps his arms and body 
above the top surface. 

(2) Fairly strong light may be flashed upon 
the top surface without affecting the levitation, 
while the same amount of light flashed beneath 
the table will immediately cause it to drop. 

The operators have no objection whatever to 
the experimenter placing his hand anywhere he 
pleases on the top of the table, or he can place 
foreign bodies upon it, can rest a pocket lamp 
upon it, and so on. 

The Region round the Levitated Table. — There 
is only one place round the table which the 
observer may not cross, and that is the region 
between the medium and the levitated table. 
I myself many times while levitation has been 
in progress have moved inside the circle right 
round three sides of the table ; and a visitor at 
an ordinary demonstration seance is allowed to 
walk inside the circle anywhere he pleases so 
long as he does not cross the line table to 
medium. In fact, the instructions to the visitor 
are as follows : " Get inside the circle (two of 
the sitters raise their arms to allow him to slip 
under and in), grip the table from the top any 



ABOVE, UNDER, AND ROUND TABLE 81 

way you please, and try to prevent it moving. 
You may move inside the circle anywhere you 
please so long as you don't get directly in front 
of the medium." 

Therefore it is obvious that the only region 
of vital importance round the levitated table is 
that between table and medium. I will show 
later that the whole space between table and 
sitters has really some value — a very secondary 
one, it is true, but nevertheless a real and sub- 
stantial value, — and that, on occasions, some at 
least of this space, other than that in front of 
the medium, is made use of by the operators. 

The Region below the Table. — There is no doubt 
whatever that the space below the table is of 
prime importance to the levitation, and to move- 
ments of the table generally. I have many ex- 
periments to describe dealing with this region. 

Conclusion. — Thus, by a simple process of 
observation and deduction, it is easily seen that 
while a table is levitated the regions of space 
about it really vital to the phenomenon are the 
space between medium and table and the space 
beneath the table. All other regions are either 
of secondary importance or are of no importance 
at all. 

Experiment 32 : A fairly strong light placed on 

top of levitated table and on leaf under 

top surface. 

I took a pocket electric flashlight, covered the 

lens with a few thicknesses of thin red tissue 

6 



82 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

paper, and placed the lamp upright on the 
levitated table. There it remained while the 
table moved gently up and down in the air, for 
quite a minute. On another occasion, when the 
battery was quite new, and the lens was covered 
only with two thicknesses of the thin red paper, 
I placed the lamp on the table before levita- 
tion, and then asked that levitation should be 
given. This, however, proved to be impossible. 
The light was too strong, and was shining too 
directly upon the medium. Generally speaking, 
it may be said that small concentrated sources 
of light close to the medium are bad for 
phenomena, but that a diffused light from some 
distance away, whose source is not concentrated 
but spread over a large area, such as a flame 
surface, is least inhibitive. When the table 
failed to levitate with the electric lamp standing 
vertically, I placed the lamp flatwise on its side 
on the table, with the lens end pointing away 
from the medium, when levitation immediately 
occurred and was kept up for a long time. The 
table had a lower leaf (the seance was held in 
my own drawing-room) about 9 in. from the 
floor, and the lamp was then placed on this 
flatwise, with illuminated end pointing away 
from the medium. After a little while the 
table was again levitated, and remained so for 
a fairly long time, although there seemed more 
difliculty in starting levitation with the light 
placed thus than when it was on the top surface. 
This would indicate that it is the lower portion 



ABOVE, UNDER, AND ROUND TABLE 83 

of the body of the medium which is most con- 
cerned in the phenomenon. These experiments 
also show that it is the end of the table nearest 
the medium and the region under the table near 
her that are affected during levitation. 

Experiment 33 : The table being steadily levi- 
tated, to discover what effect is produced 
on the levitation by sliding a body of con- 
siderable volume under the table. 

The table used was the ordinary seance one. 
When it was steadily levitated, 1 gently moved 
a spring balance of the compression type 8^ in. 
high, and with a rectangular top surface 8 in. x 
6 in., along the floor until it was underneath the 
table. No part of the balance was in contact 
with the legs or the under surface of the table 
or any part of it at all. There was a clear space 
of at least 18 in. between pan of balance and 
under surface of table (the reason I used a 
balance rather than a small wooden box or any- 
thing else, was because the balance was handy, 
as I was that evening doing other experiments 
with it). There was a positive result. The table, 
which before the experiment, was tranquil a few 
inches up in the air, fluttered (that is the only 
word which describes its motion) like a wounded 
bird and dropped gently to the floor. 

Conclusion. — The space displaced by the 
balance is a factor in the levitation, and the 
levitation is in effect produced by some kind of 
an upward force upon the under surface of the 



84 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

table ; also, the region somewhat near the floor 
beneath the table is of importance in the produc- 
tion of the phenomenon. 

Generally speaking, for the production of good 
phenomena the space underneath the table must 
be kept relatively darker than the rest of the 
room. This, in the case of the larger tables, is 
accomplished automatically, for the compara- 
tively large area of surface places the under 
region in shadow. Therefore this region is the 
most troublesome to deal with throughout the 
whole room. Nevertheless, the light is strong 
enough for most purposes ; and although scale 
readings cannot be obtained by sight, the sense 
of touch can be called in, as will be explained 
hereafter. 

In order to discover, if possible, the kind and 
position of application of the supposed upward 
force applied to the table to levitate it, I per- 
formed a number of experiments which I shall 
now describe. 

Experiment 34 : Exploring the region under the 
legs of the levitated table by the hand. 

The table used was the ordinary seance one, 
which weighs about 10^ lb. If the upward 
psychic force were exerted upon the bottom of 
the legs only, and not upon the under surface, 
there would be an upward force upon each leg 
of (10^-^4) lb., say about 2^ lb. If a hand be 
placed under a leg with, say, palm upwards, 
it is reasonable to suppose that the reaction of 



ABOVE, UNDER, AND ROUND TABLE 85 

2| lb. immediately under the leg and exerted 
upon the palm of the hand would be perfectly 
apparent. To test this, then, when the table 
was steadily levitated I placed my right hand 
upon the floor, palm uppermost, immediately 
under each leg in succession, keeping the hand 
in each position for five or six seconds. (While 
carrying out these experiments I may mention 
that I was sitting inside the circle beside the 
table on the side remote from the medium ; my 
reason for this particular position being that I 
might not disturb the field between medium 
and table.) The result of this experiment was 
entirely negative. I felt not the least sign of 
pressure upon my hand when it was under any 
of the legs, or when I gradually raised it from 
the floor till it touched the bottom of the legs, 
which would indicate that the phenomenon of 
levitation is not produced by an upward force on 
each leg, or, if there is such an upward force, it 
is a small one and only subsidiary to the main 
levitating force. 

Experiment 35 : Exploring the region under 
levitated table by the hand and arm. 

If we suppose that the levitation is produced 
by a uniform upward pressure upon the under 
surface of the table, we find, from dividing the 
weight of the table by the area of its surface, 
that this upward pressure, in the case of the 
seance-table, would amount to '025 lb. per sq. in. 
(see Experiment 16). During steady levitation, 



86 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

I placed the back of my open hand with palm 
presented to the field (a) upon the floor in various 
places under the table, and (b) upon the under 
surface of the table, but I experienced no sense 
of pressure anywhere. As, however, a pressure 
of '025 lb. per sq. in. over the few square inches 
of the palm would amount to very little, this 
result is not to be wondered at. 

I put my arm right underneath the table from 
end to end near the floor, moving it gently to 
and fro, but I experienced, as before, no sense 
of pressure anywhere. 

The general conclusion from Experiments 34 
and 35 seems to be that the table is not levitated 
by means of forces applied under the legs only, 
for the forces would be comparatively large in 
that case, and the mere fact of the hand moving 
up from floor to bottom of the leg would 
certainly interfere with the levitation (see Experi- 
ment 33). This would still be the case if we 
are to suppose that psychic force cannot act on 
the bare human hand, owing, let us say, to some 
kind of an aura surrounding it which neutralises 
its effects. So it is pretty evident that any theory 
which bases levitation upon vertical upward 
psychic force upon the bottom of the legs is 
untenable. There is a special reason why no 
force should be felt on the hand when the 
latter is on the floor under the levitated table, 
which I shall deal with later on. Why there 
should be no sense of pressure experienced 
when my hand was touching various places 



ABOVE, UNDER, AND ROUND TABLE 87 

on the under surface of table may be due to the 
following reasons : — 

(1) The upward force was too small in mag- 
nitude. 

(2) The upward force was actually present, but 
owing to an aura from the hand (or hand and 
arm) the psychic force was neutralised over the 
hand, and was slightly increased in magnitude 
over the rest of the under surface in compensa- 
tion, with the consequence that the table re- 
mained levitated. The volume of the hand and 
part of the arm beneath the table was probably 
too small to seriously interfere with the levitation 
(see Experiment 33). 

Eocperiment 36 : The effect of crossing the space 
beneath levitated table with a thin glass 
tube. 

The table used was the ordinary seance one. 
When it was steadily levitated 1 took a thin 
glass tube, about f in. outside diameter and about 
14 in. long, and, grasping the end of it in my 
hand, I moved it about below the table at various 
heights. Then 1 made a wide sweeping move- 
ment with it immediately under the legs, and 
beyond the base of the table on all sides, stretch- 
ing my arm until the end of the rod came into 
contact one by one with the feet of the sitters. 
During this process the levitation was unaffected. 

Conclusion. — A body of small area and bulk 
may be inserted below the table while it is 
levitated without affecting the phenomenon. I 



88 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

have, however, reason to believe that this is not 
generally true, but only true when the levitation 
is a powerful one. To an uninstructed observer 
it might appear that there cannot be such a 
thing as reserve of force with regard to a levitated 
table, i.e. that a force of exact magnitude is re- 
quired for the phenomenon, neither more nor 
less. But such a view does not go far enough. 
Sometimes there seems to be just sufficient force 
exerted to keep the table levitated and no more, 
in which case any disturbance, such as a hand 
being placed beneath it, causes it to drop ; at 
other times, and most often, there seems to be 
a reserve of force to draw upon, so that there is 
immediate compensation for any small disturb- 
ance, and the table remains in the air. 

Eooperiment 37 : Exploring the region of space 
beneath the levitated table with a mano- 
meter. 

Fig. 7 shows diagrammatically the main por- 
tions of the instrument. 

A is a U-tube of glass, connected to a straight 
tube of glass C by a small piece of thick rubber 
tube at B. The free end of C is turned up at 
right angles. Both ends of the apparatus X and 

Y are open to the atmosphere. A is half filled 
with water, and when there is equal gaseous 
pressure at X and Y the water remains at the 
same level in both limbs of the U-tube. If, 
however, there is greater gaseous pressure upon 

Y than X, the water rises in the left-hand limb 



ABOVE, UNDER, AND ROUND TABLE 89 

of the U-tube and falls in the right-hand one, 
and the difference of heights is a measure of the 
difference of pressure. The length of the tube C 
was 14|^ in. Fig. 7 shows the elements of the 
apparatus only. As a matter of fact, the mano- 
meter used was a fine instrument required for 
measuring the pressure of the gases in steam- 
boiler flues. It has a cock which can be rotated 
by finger and thumb, so that the gaseous pressure 




Fig. 7. 

can be held at any instant, and thus the difference 
in heights of the columns of water examined at 
leisure. 

If we suppose that there is a uniform upward 
pressure of "025 lb. per sq. in. under the table, 
and if we further suppose that this pressure is 
exerted by something of the nature of a gas, and 
that this gas is contained within limits beneath 
the table (although such suppositions appear 
unthinkable), then we might expect to see a 
difference of pressure indicated on the manometer 
of about '7 in. 



90 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

During periods when the table was steadily 
levitated, I inserted the end Y of the manometer, 
with this end always pointing vertically upright, 
(a) immediately under a leg of the table, {b) at 
various places near the under surface of the table, 
(c) at several points in space between the floor 
and the surface of the table. The placing the 
tube in these positions in nowise affected the 
levitations. When I had held the tube in any 
one of the above-mentioned positions for a few 
seconds, I turned the tap (which would hold the 
gaseous pressure if such was there, and thus 
keep the difference in columnar heights of the 
water fixed), removed the instrument from below 
the table, and examined it in strong light. The 
results were entirely negative. There were no 
indications of difference of gaseous pressure 
anywhere. 

Conclusion. — It would appear from this ex- 
periment that the levitation is not due to the 
static pressure of a fluid. 

The results of several of the previous experi- 
ments gave me some reason to think that on the 
floor or close to the floor beneath the levitated 
table there might be a region where there was no 
psychic force acting, or that the levitating force 
was confined, as regards space, to a location just 
under the surface of the table. The question 
uppermost in my mind was : " Is there a direct re- 
action upon the floor, or does the region of psychic 
force end above the floor ? " It is very natural to 
suppose, of course, that there is some kind of a 



ABOVE, UNDER, AND ROUND TABLE 91 

field extending between the under surface of the 
table and the floor immediately beneath, and 
that there is a direct stress across this medium. 
The hand might not be a sufficiently delicate 
instrument for cognising such a reaction suppos- 
ing it to be in reality present, or there might be 
something about the human hand, such as an 
aura or an emanation, that would neutralise or 
nullify the action of psychic force in its vicinity. 
For a long time, so ignorant was I of the 
mechanics of the whole phenomenon, 1 was fully 
under the impression — or delusion, as I now 
know it to have been — that there was direct 
reaction on the floor under the levitated table. 

Experivient 38 : To discover if there is a reaction 
upon the floor or in the immediate neigh- 
bourhood of the floor under a levitated 
table. 

The apparatus consists of (1) an electric bell 
and wires; (2) a dry battery ; (3) the bell-push with 
button removed ; (4) a piece of thin wood 5 in. 
square, with a small circular piece let into it at 
the centre which took the place of the button of 
the push. 

In fig. 8, A is the elevation of the thin piece 
of square wood, B is the circular piece fixed to 
it, C is the bell-push, W the wires running to 
bell and battery. A piece of rough red cloth 
was tacked to the top of A, for I had found 
from experience that a piece of coarse coloured 
or dark cloth fixed to any body which is to be 



92 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 





acted on by psychic force facili- 
tates the application of the 
force. The piece B rested on 
the top contact of the bell- 
push, and the consequence was 
that, when a slight downward 
force was applied to any part 
of A, electric contact was made 
and the bell rang. I so ar- 
ranged matters that the weight 
of even the little finger resting 
on any part of the surface of 
A caused the bell to ring. The 
total height of the apparatus 
when it rested on the floor was 
not more than 2 in. 

Method. — The table used 
was the one in my drawing- 
room, weight 16 lb., and 
the seance was held in my 
house. 

Fig. 9 shows a rough sketch 
of it, levitated about a foot 
above the floor. It is to be 
noted that this table has a 
lower leaf as shown. When 
the table was levitated I slid 
the pressure apparatus along 
the floor, to and fro, here, 
there, and everywhere beneath 
the table. (The bell and bat- 
tery were outside the circle.) 



ABOVE, UNDER, AND ROUND TABLE 93 

The result was that while the mechanism was 
beneath the table the bell did not ring. 

Conclusion. — There is no reaction on the floor 
beneath the levitated table. This is a most 
important result — so important, indeed, that I 
have verified it completely by three other experi- 




FiG. 9. 

ments (Experiments 51, 52, 61), which I do not 
describe here as they fit in better in connection 
with other and somewhat different tests. It 
will be seen that the question of a human 
hand with its possible aura does not come in 
here ; the reaction, had it been present, would 
have been exerted on a wooden surface covered 



with 



rough cloth 



the best kind of surface, 



94 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

as experience shows, for the application of 
psychic force. 

That the operators could make use of the 
pressure apparatus, and that the bell would have 
rung vigorously had there been the smallest 
psychic reaction upon it, is seen from the follow- 
ing experiment. 

Experiment 39 : To see if the operators could 
use the apparatus of Experiment 38 to 
ring the bell by the direct action of psychic 
force upon it. 

I placed the apparatus on the floor away from 
the table, and asked the operators to reply to 
questions by ringing the bell instead of by their 
customary manner of raps on the floor. Im- 
mediately on request the bell was rung, and from 
then to the conclusion of the seance the operators 
communicated in that manner (and seemed, 
indeed, rather to enjoy the change). Likewise 
they wished us good-night by long rings on the 
bell instead of by their usual method of raps. 



CHAPTER VI 

LEVITATION DIRECTLY ABOVE THE PLATFORM 
OF A WEIGHING-MACHINE 

Before I came to the conclusion that during 
a normal levitation above the floor there was no 
reaction or pressure upon the floor under the 
table, I was of the opinion, as I have already 
mentioned, that some kind of equilibrium was 
established between the medium and the table 
involving a reaction upon the floor. This view, 
which I now know to have been erroneous, 
was nevertheless a fortunate one for me to 
adopt as it turned out, because I thereby learned, 
by experimental work, much more about the 
mechanism of levitation than I otherwise would. 
My purpose in this chapter is to describe and 
discuss experiments I carried out in which I ob- 
tained levitation immediately over the platform 
of the Avery weighing-machine (the machine 
already described in Chapter III.). 

It will be remembered that the dimensions 

of the platform of this machine were 22 in. 

X 17 in. The ordinary seance-table measured 

on top 24 in. x 17 in., and round the legs 17| in. 

95 



96 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

X 151 in. In order, therefore, to increase the 
effective area of the platform the drawing-board 
already mentioned (see Chapter 111.), 24 in. x 18 
in., was tied to it. 

Experiment 40 : Preliminary trial of apparatus 

to see if the operators were likely to be 

able to carry out the required levitations. 

This test was carried out with only four of 

the members of the circle present, the medium 

being included. 

Fig. 10 shows the essential arrangements. A 
is the platform of the machine, B the drawing- 
board fixed to platform, C the back-rail of 




Fig. 10. 



machine, and D the table standing on drawing- 
board. The position of the medium throughout 
these tests is indicated by the letter M, the front 
of her body being parallel to the long edge of 
the table, and she sitting on her chair looking 
across the platform and not at the backrail. 



LEVITATION OVER PLATFORM 97 

The weight of the drawing-board = 5 lb. 
The weight of the table . . = 10 lb. 6 oz. 

The table having been placed neatly on the 
board, the seance opened. 

The machine was balanced for the total weight 
of table + drawing-board, viz. 15 lb. 6 oz. After 
some time two legs of the table were lifted up 
into the air, the other two remaining on the 
platform. The steelyard immediately went hard 
up against the top stop, indicating a greatly 
increased weight upon the machine. 

{a) During one particular tilting (there were 
several of them) I balanced the steelyard at 
about 26 lb. Now the dead weight being 15 lb. 
6 oz., and the table still resting on two legs on 
the platform, it was obvious that some kind of 
a force much in excess of that due to direct 
reaction was in operation. 

(6) In another case of tilting, the weight 
registered on the machine was greater than 
26 lb., though I did not actually measure it. 

I got the impression, from observing pretty 
carefully some half a dozen cases of tilting at 
various angles, that with increasing height of 
raised end an increasing weight was put on the 
machine. Complete levitation did not occur. It 
seemed to me that the mere fact of partial levi- 
tation caused an extra back pressure, as it were, 
on the platform, a pressure that was always 
greater than the static load of 15 lb. 6 oz. 

From the result of this experiment it seemed 

7 



98 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

to me likely that with the full circle present 
complete levitation would be obtained. Accord- 
ingly the next test was carried out with the 
full circle present. 

Eaiperiment 41 : The seance-table being levitated 
directly over the platform of the weighing- 
machine, to measure the reaction on the 
platform. 

Weight of table . . . = 10 lb. 6 oz. 

Weight of drawing-board . . = 5 lb. oz. 
Total dead weight . . . = 15 lb. 6 oz. 

The table was placed symmetrically on the 
drawing-board and the seance commenced. 
With the table in position there was only an 
inch or two of space outside the legs, and thus 
very little room for side play or for manipu- 
lation. The steelyard was balanced for the dead 
weight of 15 lb. 6 oz. 

(A) Within a few minutes psychic force was 
being somewhere applied to the platform, for 
the steelyard was oscillated to and fro against 
the top stop. The table also jerked about on 
the narrow platform, and now and then an end 
was slightly raised but quickly lowered. This 
sort of thing continued off and on for a quarter 
of an hour or so, and I was beginning to think 
the operators would be unable to effect the 
required levitation. Then I heard seven or 
eight raps on the floor in succession, the pre- 
arranged signal that they wished to give a 



LEVITATION OVER PLATFORM 99 

message. By means of raps the following was 
spelt out : " Cover the drawing-board with a 
dark cloth." Now the drawing-board was white 
in colour, the original wood not having been 
varnished or touched in any way, and the trouble 
was apparently due to some kind of reflected 
white rays coming from its surface (see Ex- 
periment 31). The circle was accordingly broken 
for a few minutes while one of the members 
went downstairs for a thin piece of dark cloth, 
which was placed over the drawing-board. Its 
weight being only an ounce or two, did not 
materially affect the dead load. The experiment 
now proceeded much more successfully. The 
table was again oscillated on the platform, and 
was then lifted on two legs (two legs thus re- 
maining on the machine and two in the air 
above it). 

(B) This lifting coincided with a large apparent 
increase of weight, as much as 14 lb. additional 
to the value of the dead load being registered 
(compare Experiment 40). Several times was an 
end of the table thus raised, and on each occasion 
the sudden corresponding increase of weight, 
varying from a few pounds up to a maximum of 
about 14 lb., was noted. Complete levitation 
did not occur until about forty minutes after the 
opening of the seance, and then it only lasted for 
four or five seconds and was of a rather jerky type. 
(It was very evident that the phenomenon could 
only be produced with difficulty, owing chiefly, 
I believe, to the close approximation of areas of 



100 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

base of table and of the platform, which allowed 
of very little manipulation. ) 

(C) But immediately it occurred, the registered 
weight, which was the previous instant several 
pounds above the dead-load value of 15 lb. 6 oz. 
(due no doubt to the preliminary tilting just 
before levitation, see Experiment 40 and (A) 
and (B) above), came back, and the steelyard 
balanced at something like the original load. 
During the next few minutes levitation took 
place several times, on each occasion increasing 
in duration and steadiness. At length almost 
perfect levitation, about 6 in. in height, was ob- 
tained, lasting for fully half a minute, with the 
surface of table almost level, and the table nearly 
steady and just covering the platform. With 
the exception of one case to be described later, 
it was the most wonderful levitation I have wit- 
nessed in the course of my investigation. 

(D) Immediately it occurred the steelyard 
balanced at about 15^ lb., oscillating a pound 
or so on either side of this, in correspondence, 
apparently, with the slight up-and-down tremors 
of the table in the air. 

Conclusions. — (1) With table tilted — only half 
levitated ((A) and (B) above) — there is on each 
occasion a reaction on the machine many pounds 
greater than the static load, and the magnitude 
of this reaction varies in some manner with the 
height of the tilting. This agrees absolutely 
with the result of Experiment 40. 

(2) During fairly steady levitation the reaction 



LEVITATION OVER PLATFORM 101 

of the levitated table on platform is apparently 
nearly equal to the weight of the table (see (C) 
and (D) above). 

(3) The movement of the table up and down 
in the air above the platform causes variations 
of a few pounds in the reaction as measured on 
the weighing-machine. 

Experiment 42 : Levitation of table No. 2 over 
platform of weighing-machine. 

At the conclusion of Experiment 41, 1 removed 
the ordinary seance-table — which, on account of 
its nearness in size to the platform, required most 
careful manipulation and was on that account 
difficult to levitate — and placed a smaller bam- 
boo table (table 2, p. 38) on the platform of 
the machine. The base area of this was much 
less than the other table, and there was conse- 
quently more room round it on the platform. I 
then balanced the steelyard for dead weight of 
table and drawing-board. 

Weight of table . . . = 6 lb. 
Weight of drawing-board . = 5 lb. 
Total dead weight . . . =11 lb. 

The seance was now near its conclusion and 
the psychic energy available was evidently at a 
maximum, for no sooner had I placed the table 
on the platform then it immediately rose into the 
air, and the levitation could apparently have been 
kept up for several minutes if I had desired it. 

(A) With the exception of variations of a 



102 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

pound or so, which seemed to correspond with 
small up-and-down jerks of the table in the air, 
the steelyard remained balanced as for the 
initial dead load of 11 lb. I watched with 
interest the small variations in registered weight, 
balanced by moving the rider a trifle this way 
and that, as the table sagged a little or was raised 
a little in the air. 

Conclusion. — As in Experiment 41, the reaction 
on the platform of the weighing-machine appears 
to be about equal to the weight of the levitated 
table. 

Expei^iment 43. — About a month after the date 
of Experiments 41 and 42, I carried 
out further similar tests on two more 
tables : {a) the ornamental bamboo table 
and {b) the stool (tables Nos. 3 and 4, 
p. 38). 

Weights :— Table 3, 6 lb. 4 oz. 
Table 4, 2 lb. 12 oz. 

With table 3 the levitation was prolonged, 
quite steady, and of an average height of about 
7 in. The surface was not level but was in- 
clined at an angle of about 30° to the horizontal, 
the lower edge, being towards the side of the 
platform farthest from the medium. When 
equilibrium was established, with the table 
steady in the air, the weighing-machine 
registered (subtracting the dead load of 
drawing-board) a reaction of about 13 lb. 6 oz., 



LEVITATION OVER PLATFORM 



103 



or more than double the weight of the table. 
But it was noticeable that the steelyard was 
just a little stiff, as though there was a side- 
thrust somewhere on the mechanism supporting 
the platform. 

With table 4 (the stool) the levitation was 
also very good and prolonged, and of an average 
height of 9 to 10 in. The surface was also in 
this case inclined at an angle of about 30° to 
the horizontal, the sagging edge as before being 
farthest from the medium. A very heavy re- 
action was registered on the weighing-machine, 
and the steelyard was quite stiff. The average 
reaction (between weight needed to allow steel- 
yard to rise and that necessary to cause it to 
fall) was no less than about 31 lb. 10 oz. 
(excluding weight of drawing-board). As soon 
as levitation was over, the machine instantly 
regained its usual sensitiveness. The following 
tabulation will enable results to be compared : — 



Experi- 
m ent No. 


Table 
No. 


Character of 
levitation. 


Weight of 
table. 


Reaction due 
to levitated 
table (about) 


41 

42 
43 

43 . 


1 
2 
3 

4 


Level. 

Level. 

Inclined at about 

30° to horizontal. 

Inclined at about 

30° to horizontal. 


10 lb. 6 oz. 
6 „ 4 „ 
2 ,, 12 „ 


10 1b. Soz. 
13 „ 6 „ 
31 „ 10 ,, 



In all cases I had plenty of time to make my 
observations, and I believe the results are ac- 
curate. With tables 1 and 2 I did not notice 



104 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

any loss of sensitiveness of steelyard while 
measuring the reaction, but with table 3 there 
may have been a slight loss, and with table 4 
there was certainly a great loss. 

General Conclusions from the Four Levita- 
tions. — The results given above in the tabulation 
are, or were at the time I obtained them, ex- 
tremely puzzling. The following are some 
observations I made at the time : — 

It would seem that when the table is com- 
paratively large — i.e. when its surface and base 
area bear some resemblance to the area of the 
platform— the reaction is practically equal to 
the weight of the table. (In the light of later 
and different experiments I do not now think 
this statement is altogether accurate. I now 
know that the height of the platform above the 
floor is the all-determining factor.) A rough 
comparison may be helpful. The area of the 
platform is 432 sq. in. The areas of the surfaces 
of tables 1 and 2 are 408 sq. in. and 271 sq. in. re- 
spectively, and their heights 29 in. and 27|^ in., and 
in each of these cases the reaction is about equal 
to the weight of the table. In table 3 the area 
of the lower surface (there are two surfaces in 
this case, and it is reasonable to suppose that it 
is the lower one upon which the psychic pressure 
is exerted) is 90 sq. in., the area of the base is 
144 sq. in., height 29 in., and there was a little 
sluggishness of the steelyard and a reaction 
about equal to twice the weight of the table. 
In the case of table 4 (the stool), whose surface 



LEVITATION OVER PLATFORM 105 

area is 175 sq. in., base area 64 sq. in., height 
11|^ in., there was very pronounced sluggishness 
of the steelyard and a reaction of about 11 times 
the weight of the table. 

In the case of the stool the obvious stiffness of 
the steelyard showed that there was friction 
somewhere during levitation. Accordingly I 
carefully examined the balancing mechanism of 
the machine, and I have come to the conclusion 
that the temporary want of sensitiveness was 
due to a twist having been applied by the 
operators to the platform during the experi- 
ment. It is to be noted, as mentioned above, 
that immediately levitation was over, the machine 
was perfectly sensitive again. From this con- 
sideration I am obliged to think that a large 
part of the reaction as measured on the machine 
in the case of the stool was fictitious, and re- 
presents the effects of friction on the mechanism 
due to the twist, or to the reaction pressure 
being applied other than vertically to the plat- 
form, and that in the case of table 3 some of 
the reaction is due to the same cause. 

I will show later that during an abnormal 
levitation, i.e. one efi^ected from a higher surface 
than the floor level (which I call a normal one), 
there is usually a horizontal component of the 
reaction acting on the platform straight out- 
wards from the medium. This component would 
push the platform over on its fulcra and cause 
friction. 

It remains to conjecture why with the stool 



106 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

there should be such pronounced evidence of twist 
or oblique reaction on the platform, and none 
in the case of the large seance-table. After 
much consideration of the phenomenon, I have 
come to the conclusion that levitation of a 
table over a raised platform is much more 
difficult than over a level wooden floor. There 
seems to be a normal levitating level with re- 
ference to the position of medium. Any alter- 
ation in this normal relation of medium and 
table, such as putting the table on a raised 
platform, increases the inherent difficulty of 
the phenomenon. I think also that we have 
some slight evidence in the friction noticeable 
in the case of the stool that something in the 
nature of a " structure " is being used. The 
preliminary increases of weight registered during 
the beginning of levitation would also suggest 
this. 

As already mentioned, I have satisfied myself 
that in the general case of levitation over the 
floor there is no back pressure or reaction upon 
the floor. It is to be noted that in levitation 
over the platform of the weighing-machine, 
whose surface is some 7 in. above the floor, the 
smallest reaction was equal to the weight of 
the table, and the largest was much greater. In 
experiments which I shall describe later I shall 
hope to give a reason for this apparently anoma- 
lous condition of things. 



CHAPTER VII 

EXPERIMENTS WITH COMPRESSION SPRING 
BALANCE UNDERNEATH THE LEVITATED TABLE 

Owing to the results of experiments in which 
levitation was effected over the platform of a 
weighing-machine not proving decisive, due to 
what appeared to be oblique reaction forces 
exerted on the platform causing twist and friction 
of the mechanism, I thought I would place an 
ordinary compression balance below the table 
and see what would happen during levitation, 
if indeed the phenomenon were possible with 
the balance there at all. I thought of using 
such a balance because only the vertical com- 
ponent of any reaction could be registered on 
it, and the machine was not delicate enough to 
be much affected by small horizontal com- 
ponents, assuming that such were present. The 
whole thing was merely guesswork, and I am 
sure I was as surprised as anybody when I 
found it came off successfully, and not only 
came off but gave exceedingly valuable results. 
In the experiments I am now going to describe 
there will be a certain amount of repetition, 

107 



108 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

but, as I have already said, such repetition in 
psychic research is valuable and indeed necessary, 
for opportunities of obtaining similar results are 
very limited, and every observation that shows 
the least trace of value should therefore be 
strictly preserved. Moreover, I only arrived 
at the proper capacity of balance required, and 
the best conditions for carrying out the experi- 
ments, by a system of trial and error ; but during 
all these preliminary tests many results of much 
importance, not in the direct line of the main 
purpose of the experiments, were obtained. 

Eocperiment 44 : A spring compression balance 
being placed below the table, to see if 
the table could be levitated without re- 
action on the balance. 

The table was the stance one, weight lOf lb. 
The balance used was of the type employed 
in many households for weighing groceries. It 
had a circular dial registering up to 14 lb. by 
means of a pointer, and the material to be 
weighed was placed in a circular metal pan on 
top, the diameter of the pan being 9^ in. The 
total height of the balance (illustrated in fig. 11) 
was 13 in. when there was no weight in the 
pan. 

Before levitation, the balance was placed on 
the floor as nearly under the centre of the table 
as could be judged by the eye. Fig. 12 indicates 
the relative positions and dimensions. 

The plan of the surface of the table is shown 



COMPRESSION SPRING BALANCE 109 



by the full lines, the position of the legs by the 
crosses, and the pan of the compression balance 
by the circle. My position is indicated by the 
letter A, immediately in front of the table and 
on the side remote from 
the medium. There was a 
clear space of at least 15 in. 
between the top of the 
balance and the under sur- 
face of the table, and of 
course no other part of the 
balance was in contact with 
any part of the table. 

I asked the operators to 
levitate the table immedi- 
ately above the balance. 

I placed my finger on the 
pointer whose movement 
registers the weights in the pan of the balance, 
and awaited events. Some minutes elapsed, 
and then the table gave a few heaves at either 
end. It finally levitated a few inches from 
the floor, and, after remaining in the air some 
seconds, dropped. Some minutes passed before 
the levitation was again successful, and there 
was a lot of preliminary jerking before it was 
accomplished, and, as on the previous occa- 
sion, it only lasted for the briefest of periods. 
But during each of these evidently difficult 
levitations there was no pressure on the 
balance beneath the table, for the pointer re- 
mained stationary in its zero position. Thus 




Fig. 11. 



110 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

the operators had accomplished what was re- 
quired of them, but apparently only after much 
trouble. 

Co7iclusion. — The table may be levitated and 
no reaction pressure be put on the pan of the 





<■ - - 
+ 


- - - 24" 


- - - 


- ■ ■^\ 


r 






+ 


' 






>N 




t- 






J 




±.. 


+ 






+ 



A 

Fig. 12. 



balance, but such a levitation seems difficult and 
not in accordance with the usual method. 

In thinking over this result it occurred to 
me that the operators were making use of that 
part of the surface underneath the table out- 
side a circle projected upwards from the pan 
of the balance, and that this was not their 
normal method of levitation. On inquiring if 
this was the case, they replied by raps in the 
affirmative. 



COMPRESSION SPRING BALANCE 111 

Experiment 45 : The operators were told not to 
take any notice of the balance, but to 
levitate in their normal manner. To find 
the vertical reaction. 

The seance-table and the 14-lb. balance were 
used. 

I placed a piece of dark cloth on the pan of 
the balance, as experience has shown that 
reflected rays from any surface upon which 
psychic force is exerted interfere with the ease 
and intensity of the phenomena. My finger 
was pressing lightly on the pointer on the dial 
of the balance, and in a very few seconds I felt 
the pointer moving round the dial. It moved 
completely round at a fairly uniform speed and 
clicked against the stop, the time occupied being 
about three seconds. Almost immediately v/ith 
the completed revolution of the pointer the table 
rose into the air, swaying slightly backwards and 
forwards, the pointer remaining all the time 
against the stop. After some time the table 
suddenly dropped, and synchronously the pointer 
flew back round the dial to its normal zero posi- 
tion, nearly catching my finger in the process 
and nipping it between the pointer and the face 
of the dial. The maximum reading of the 
balance was 14 lb., and in order to reach the 
stop the pointer would have to travel a further 
distance equivalent to about | lb., so that while 
levitation was in progress there was a direct 
downward force upon the pan of the balance of 



112 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

at least 14^ lb. ; how much more than the 14^ 
lb. might have been registered if the balance had 
had the capacity to record it, I was unable to 
say. I did not think, however, that it would 
have been very much more, as the table seemed 
to spring up into the air almost immediately 
after the completion of the revolution of the 
pointer round the dial. The levitation in this 
case was strikingly easier than that recorded in 
Experiment 44. The operators said it was their 
normal method, and there can be little doubt 
it is so, at least approximately, because the 
levitations (there were several of them) were 
apparently all fairly easy. The degree of 
difficulty seemed little more than with ordinary 
levitation without apparatus under the table, the 
only difference, so far as I could see, lying in the 
fact that the steadiness was not so pronounced, 
there being a swaying action during suspension 
of a character I had not noticed in the ordinary 
case. I think this swaying action is due to the 
table being supported on an area of under surface 
about equal to the area of the pan of the balance, 
whereas in the ordinary case the supporting force 
is somewhat more uniform over the surface. 

I have said that the pointer took about three 
or four seconds to get round the dial while 
levitation was occurring. I examined the pheno- 
menon many times during a period of about 
a quarter of an hour, and always found that, 
if the balance was approximately central with 
respect to the table, the levitation was almost 



COMPRESSION SPRING BALANCE 113 

invariably good and the speed of the pointer 
round the dial was always about the same ; so 
much so, in fact, was this the case, that I had 
time to call out that a levitation was about to 
occur, well before it did occur. It is to be 
noted that when the pointer completed the 
circuit and became fast on the stop, the table 
appeared to spring into the air ; that is the 
only word for it. The important fact is here 
brought out that the psychic force producing 
levitation is not applied instantly, but requires 
an appreciable time (about three to four seconds 
in this case) to reach the maximum required 
for levitation. 

Conclusions. — (1) As the weight of the table 
was 10 1 lb., and as the vertical reaction during 
levitation was always greater than 14^ lb., it does 
not seem likely that there is any kind of direct 
stress across anything resembling a fluidic field, 
unless the weight of the field itself is a con- 
siderable factor. 

(2) The psychic force producing levitation, 
judging from the augmentation of reaction, is 
applied gradually. 

(3) At the correct instant the table seems to 
spring into the air. 

(4) The table sways slightly when levitated 
above the pan of the balance. 

(5) The levitating force can be removed in- 
stantly. 



114 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

Eocperiment 46 : Two legs of the table remain- 
ing on the floor, the other two rise in 
the air and move up and down. To 
find the effect on spring balance placed 
underneath the table. 

The ordinary seance-table and 14-lb. balance 
were used. 

The raised end of the table was jerking quickly 
up and down in the air. The pointer of the 
compression balance under the table moved 
quickly to and fro over the dial in correspond- 
ence with the movements of the raised end, 
the maximum reading being about 7 lb. and 
the range being about 3 lb. 

On another occasion of partial levitation with 
the same jerking motion the balance was not 
affected at all, which would seem to show that 
in that case the psychic force was applied some- 
where outside the projection from pan to under 
surface of table. 

During the series of levitations with the 
14-lb. compression balance below the table, 
several points were noticed which I put down 
under letter headings : — 

(A) On two occasions of good levitation the 
pointer of the balance remained steady for the 
duration of levitation at about 12 lb. instead 
of going up against the stop and remaining 
hard pressed against it. This may have been 
due to the whole of the reaction not being 
upon the pan of the balance. 



COMPRESSION SPRING BALANCE 115 

(B) With the table steadily tilted on two 
legs, the pointer on several trials indicated a 
downward force of about 7 lb. 

(C) Sometimes if there was a hitch in the 
levitation the pointer would gradually move 
round to 7 lb. or 8 lb., the table either not rising 
at all, or tilting just a little, and then the 
pointer would fly back to zero. The operators 
would then try again for complete levitation, 
usually successfully. 

(D) I asked on one occasion that the oper- 
ators should lower the table gently and remove 
the psychic force gradually, instead of suddenly, 
as was usually done. The result was that the 
table descended to the floor slowly, and then 
the pointer of the balance moved slowly and 
uniformly back round the dial to zero, taking 
about six seconds in the process. 

(E) When the table was levitated and the 
pointer against the stop at 14|^ lb., I placed 
my hand and part of my arm in the scale-pan 
of the balance. I felt no pressure at all, and 
both the levitation and the reaction were un- 
affected. 

(F) 1 grasped the near edge of the scale-pan, 
and felt it moving down while the table was 
being levitated and moving up when the psychic 
force was being removed. 

Experiment 47 : This is, strictly speaking, a 
series of experiments, similar in the main to Ex- 
periments 45 and 46, but with this difference, that 



116 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

a compression balance reading up to 28 lb. was 
used in place of the one whose maximum read- 
ing was 14 lb. In the previous experiments 
the capacity of the balance was too small to 
enable the maximum reading to be obtained 
when the table was levitated, although it was 
large enough to allow of many interesting points 
being noted. Therefore, on this occasion I 
brought to the seance room a balance which 
read to 28 lb., and I expected that this would 
be quite large enough to measure the vertical 
reaction. There was no substantial difference 
in size or shape of the two balances. During 
a series of levitations and partial levitations, 
using this new balance, I found that all the 
results 1 have mentioned in Experiments 45 
and 46 (with the exception of (A), Experiment 
46) were completely verified. There was one 
important misconception, however. When actual 
levitation occurred, the pointer on the balance 
did not read a few pounds over 14, as I thought 
it would, but actually went round the scale 
and on to the stop, and only just when at 
the stop were there signs that levitation was 
imminent. I was much surprised, because I 
felt almost certain that the vertical reaction 
was not much greater than 14 lb. However, 
there was no doubt about the matter, for during 
four or five levitations the same thing occurred. 
It would appear that this 'balance was just on 
the small side for registering the levitation 
reaction. 



COMPRESSION SPRING BALANCE 117 

Conclusion. — The vertical reaction for the 
seance-table, weighing 10| lb., is greater than 
28 lb., though probably only a little greater. 

I had noticed what I thought was a pushing 
force on the body of the balance during levita- 
tion from the direction of the medium. To 
see if there was in reality a horizontal pushing 
force as well as a vertical force, I carried out 
the following experiment. 

Experiment 48 : To find the horizontal com- 
ponent of the reaction. 

The apparatus employed is that shown diagram- 
matically in fig. 13, and a photograph is also 
given in fig. 14. 

^ - - . . 17" = . » - > 



To Medium 
^ 




Fig. 13. 



B is the compression balance (reading to 14 
lb.) placed on top of an iron carriage C, which 
runs on ball bearings, and which is so free from 
friction that a force of ^ lb. suffices to pull it 



118 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

along the floor. N is a nail driven into the floor. 
S is an ordinary Salter tension spring balance read- 
ing to 20 lb., tied to the nail N and to the carriage 
C. T is the levitated table. Between A and N 
is my approximate position of observation. 

I placed a finger of the right hand on the 
pointer of the tension balance S, and a finger 
of the left hand on the pointer of the com- 
pression balance B. I then asked the operators 
to levitate the table, when in the usual way 
the pointer on B gradually moved round to 
14|^ lb. against the stop, and then the table 
sprang up into the air. The pointer on the 
tension balance also simultaneously moved along 
the scale, and the average of half a dozen levi- 
tations gave for it a rough value of about 4 lb. 
To confirm roughly this reading, I pushed back- 
wards on the compression balance B, and dis- 
tinctly felt a force of about that magnitude 
pushing against me. 

That the horizontal pushing force on the 
balance B is not an independent force may be 
inferred from the following: — Several times 
during levitation strong upward jerks of the 
table were given. On all such occasions the 
pointer on the tension balance S indicated a 
sudden increase of a pound or two, and when 
the jerking motion was completed it went 
back to the normal reading of about 4 lb. 
steady pull. 

Conclusion. — The horizontal component of the 
reaction when the seance-table of weight lOf lb. 



The Reality of Psychic Phenomena. ] 




COMPRESSION SPRING BALANCE 119 

is levitated above the 14-lb. balance is apparently 
about 4 lb. ; and this component acts directly 
outwards from the medium. 

At a later date I made a further experiment 
with the object of determining accurately the 
horizontal component of the reaction. 

Eojperiment 49 : To endeavour to determine 
accurately the horizontal component of 
the reaction. 

I rigged up the apparatus as shown in figs. 13 
and 14. The balances were, however, different. 
The compression balance was the one reading 
to 28 lb. (not to 14 lb.), although its over-all 
dimensions were about the same ; and the tension 
balance was a much larger one, with larger scale 
divisions than that used in the previous experi- 
ment. It was new, and read up to 20 lb. 

During the course of this experiment I proved 
to my satisfaction that the horizontal and vertical 
forces are only components of a single force. In 
three or four cases, with a finger of one hand on 
the tension pointer and a finger of the other on 
the compression pointer, 1 felt the absolutely 
synchronous and proportionate movements of 
the two : when a hitch in the levitation occurred 
and one stopped, the other stopped also ; when 
levitation occurred, the tension pointer stopped 
(or very nearly stopped), the compression pointer 
being against the stop ; they started simultane- 
ously, and I could tell when a levitation was 
about to occur by the forward movement of the 



120 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

tension pointer just as well as by that of the 
compression pointer. 

The correct values of the pushing force from 
medium when the table is steadily levitated 
above the 28-lb. balance is 5J lb., and this is 
certainly correct within |; lb. (I followed up the 
movement of the pointer by a piece of chalk 
behind it, and this left a sharp straight mark on 
the scale. ) This value of 5^ lb. is the result of 
many careful readings. A value of about 4 lb. 
was obtained in Experiment 48, but the spring 
balance used in that test was not so accurate as 
that employed in the present one ; also, the two 
compression balances, although very much alike, 
varied a little in height and other particulars ; 
and again, there may be special reasons why on 
different evenings the horizontal component of 
the reaction should vary a little, even though 
all the apparatus, and its disposition with refer- 
ence to the medium, remained constant. 

Eocperiment 50 : To find the exact value of the 
vertical downward force on the pan of the 
balance while the seance-table, weight 
lOf lb., was steadily levitated above it. 

The 14-lb. and 28-lb. balances being both 
insufficient to measure the vertical reaction 
under the levitated seance-table, it was necessary 
to employ a balance having a still larger capacity. 
Accordingly, I next chose for this purpose what 
is known as a parcel balance, because, as its name 
implies, it is used for weighing parcels. Its 



COMPRESSION SPRING BALANCE 121 

maximum reading was 56 lb., and instead of 
having a circular scale-pan it had a flat weighing 
surface of rectangular planished steel 14 in. x 
9 in. Its height from base to top, unloaded, was 
13j in. A photograph of it in connection with 
other apparatus is given in fig. 17. 

Fig. 15 shows the plan of seance-table and pan 
of balance. The final experiments with this 



Fig. 15. 

balance were made in conjunction with those for 
evaluating the horizontal component of the 
reaction (see Experiments 48 and 49 and figs, 
13 and 14). 

The parcel balance was placed on top of the 
little frictionless carriage C, immediately under 
the table. The total height of pan of balance 
from floor was then about 15j^ in. First of all 
I sat outside the circle and asked for levitation, 
which after a time was given. An interesting 
feature of this levitation was the audible click of 



122 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

the mechanism of both tension and compression 
balances as they took up their loads. Having 
therefore seen that the operators could produce 
the phenomenon under the difficult circumstances 
named, i.e. with a large balance under the table 
and a tension balance near medium (see fig. 13), 
1 entered the circle and placed myself at the 
position, with reference to the table, of the letter 
B (fig. 15), and not A as in Experiment 44, fig. 12, 
the reason being that the pan of the parcel 
balance was so large that it was more convenient 
to put it under the table, so that the dial was 
facing at right angles to the medium and not 
directly opposite her. I put the piece of black 
cloth over the pan and my finger on the pointer 
of the balance. I had also a piece of chalk for 
marking the pointer position. I asked for levita- 
tion, but, contrary to custom, did not get it. It 
would seem that my entering the circle had in- 
terfered in some way with its psychic equilibrium ; 
and although the operators tried hard and often, 
as was evidenced by the pointer travelling a 
good way round the dial, they did not actually 
succeed in securing a levitation. I suggested to 
them that I should lower the balance a little, 
and asked them if that would help. They 
answered, " Yes." So I took the balance off the 
carriage and placed it on the floor, which reduced 
its total height about 2 in. This was immediately 
efficacious, and levitation soon occurred. I took 
the value of the downward force on the pan for 
about half a dozen steady levitations. 



COMPRESSION SPRING BALANCE 123 

Result. — The vertical downward force on pan 
is 30 lb., and this value is correct to Ij lb. either 
way, and probably correct to J lb. either way. 

The machine was tested for accuracy before 
the experiment. 

The reader must not think that the obtaining 
of the above result — on which I place much 
importance — was an easy matter. Because of 
the size of the balance beneath the table it was 
difficult, and called for much patience and ac- 
curacy on the part of the operators. About four 
seance hours were occupied altogether in obtain- 
ing it and in verifying and reverifying it on 
different evenings. 

Conclusion. — 
Weight of table . . . . = lOf lb. 

Vertical downward force on compres- 
sion balance during steady levitation = 30 lb. 
Horizontal pushing force on balance 

during steady levitation . . = 5^ lb. 

The next thing I wished to find out was 
whether there was a quantitative relation between 
the height above the floor of the platform from 
which levitation was effected and the vertical 
downward reaction on the platform. 

Experiment 51 : To find the relation between 
height of platform and vertical downward 
reaction during levitation. 

Fig. 16 gives a diagrammatic sketch of the 
apparatus employed, whilst a photograph is also 
shown (fig. 17). 



124 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

A is the parcel spring balance (see Experiment 
50) reading up to 56 lb., with a flat rectangular 
planished steel pan 1 4 in. x 9 in. 

B is a flat iron bar clamped firmly to the pan 
of the balance. 

C is a circular iron rod which can slide up and 




Fig. 16. 

down through a hole in the end of B, and which 
can be fixed to B by a pin arrangement at in- 
tervals in height of 2 in. 

D is a flat iron bar fixed at right angles to C. 

E is a flat rectangular-shaped piece of wood 
fixed to the top of D. 

The method of carrying out the experiment 
was as follows : — The apparatus was placed on 
the floor, to which the base of the balance was 



The Eeality of Psychic Phenomena.'] 




■^ 



n 



COMPRESSION SPRING BALANCE 125 

tightly clamped in order to prevent motion as 
the psychic reaction was exerted on E. The 
table was then placed on the floor centrally over 
the rectangular wooden surface E, with the con- 
sequence that the edge of the table came to 
about the line MM, all that part of the apparatus 
to the left of MM being below the table. The 
idea was that the reaction would be exerted on 
the flat surface E ; and as E could be gradually 
raised, the various reactions for the different 
heights could be read on the balance A. 

Needless to say, the whole apparatus was 
made exceedingly rigid, and, in spite of the large 
overhang, when tested in the laboratory was 
found to be practically accurate. 

This experiment is so important, and the 
chance of performing it occurs so seldom, that 
I will not apologise for going somewhat minutely 
into details. In the first test, the rectangular 
piece of wood E was ordinary soft wood, and 
measured 12 in. x 9 in. It was fixed to the 
flat iron bar D by two ordinary screws through 
holes in D. The apparatus was placed under 
the table so that the lower surface of D just 
cleared the floor. I kept my finger firmly on the 
pointer of the balance A. Levitation was then 
asked for and obtained. When I was sure of 
the result for this position, I raised the platform 
E 2 in. by sliding C up through the hole in the 
end of B and fixing C in the new position by 
the pin arrangement provided. Then I obtained 
levitation for this position. Then the platform 



126 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

was raised another 2 in., and the experiment 
proceeded as before. I always took care that 
E was practically centrally under the table. I 
usually, for each position, took about three levi- 
tations to ensure accuracy. The following is the 
result of the first experiment. Heights may be 
considered accurate to ^ in. 

Weight of table . . . = lOf lb. 

Dimensions of platform E . . = 12 in. x 9 in. 
Initial no-load reading on balance 

due to weight of apparatus . = 8f lb. 



Height of platform 
from floor (in inches). 


Net vertical reaction on 

platform during levita- 

tion (in lbs. ). 


1^ 

7h 




4 

3 
23i 



During one of the last tests at the height 
of 7^ in., the operators evidently applied the 
psychic pressure a little off the centre of the 
platform, for the two screws which held it in 
position on the flat iron bar D were wrenched 
out of the wood. Accordingly, further tests 
could not be proceeded with that evening. 

For the next series of tests I substituted for 
the soft wood a piece of 5-ply wood, and for the 
screws a couple of ^-in. bolts. 



COMPRESSION SPRING BALANCE 127 

Experivient 52 : Second experiment to find the 
quantitative relation between height of 
platform and vertical reaction. Time: 
some weeks later than the date of Ex- 
periment 51. 

Before I carried out the second experiment 
I made a slight alteration on the seance-table, 
which affected its weight a little. Up to that 
time the table had possessed two light wooden 
bars across its width at either end near the floor, 
their object being, of course, to add rigidity to 
the legs. In order to show that these were not 
essential to levitation I had them sawn off. 

Weight of table . . . = 10 lb. 

Dimensions of platform (see 

fig. 16) = 12 in. x 9 in. 

Initial no-load reading on balance 

due to weight of apparatus . = 9 lb. 



Height of platform from 

which levitation is effected 

(in inches). 


Net vertical reaction on platform 
during levitation (in pounds). 


Test A. 


Test B. 


1 
3 
5 
7 
9 
11 




f 
22 

27 

36^ 




26 
31 
33 
38 



The method of carrying out the two tests A 



128 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

and B was as follows : — I first did test A, com- 
mencing with the platform at its nearest distance 
to the floor and taking either two or three 
levitations for each height, so as to obtain the 
results as accm-ately as possible. When I had 
worked through all the heights in this way, I 
went right through them again from bottom to 
top (test B). It will be observed that there is a 
variation of a few pounds in some of the heavier 
readings between the two sets. 

During the course of the seance, over twenty 
separate levitations were given by the operators. 

I wish to emphasise a particular point with 
regard to this experiment — a point which I think 
will eventually prove to be of great importance 
in the elucidation of the mystery of psychic 
force. It is this : At the greater heights — those 
in which the reactions are heavy — the downward 
vertical force on the platform did not become 
steady (as might have been expected) as soon as 
levitation was effected. On the contrary, the 
force in all cases continued to increase for a 
couple of seconds or so after levitation. From 
5 lb. to 8 lb. is my estimate of the amount of 
downward force added after levitation was com- 
plete, and before the pointer on the balance 
ceased moving, which it, however, eventually 
did in all cases. The readings given above 
represent the final steady values. 

And now a word or two on the interpretation 
of the results of Experiments 51 and 52. The 
three tests, although they do not give identical 



COMPRESSION SPRING BALANCE 129 

results for the different heights, are, however, 
fairly consistent. They all show — 

(1) That on the floor, and for two or three 
inches above it, there is no reaction (thus verify- 
ing the results of Experiment 38). 




O' Height of platform from floor. 

Fig. 18. 

(2) A very slight reaction is just noticeable at 
a height of three inches from the floor. 

(3) The reaction in all three cases suddenly 
increases. For instance, in Experiment 51, from 
inch 5^ to inch 7^> it changes from 3 lb. to 23^ 
lb. ; in Experiment 52, test A, from inch 3 to 
inch 5, it changes from f lb. to 22 lb. ; in test B, 
from inch 3 to inch 5, from f lb. to 26 lb. 



130 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

(4) After the sudden increase of reaction 
pressure referred to in (3), the rate of increase 
of pressure with height greatly diminishes. 

The graph, fig. 18, shows roughly how the 
reaction varies. There seems first to be a 
gradual rise of pressure (A), then a sudden rise 
(B), and then a slower and fairly uniform in- 
crease (C). 

Experiment 53 : To find the vertical component 
of the reaction when a small stool is 
levitated immediately above a compres- 
sion balance. 

I placed the drawing-board (covered with a 
piece of rough dark carpet) on top of the 56-lb. 
parcel balance (see Experiment 50), and the stool 
(table 4, p. 38) on top of the board, and asked 
for levitation. 

Fig. 19 indicates the arrangement. This 
levitation was evidently a most difficult one for 
the operators ; in fact, I think it was the most 
difficult one I have come across, not even ex- 
cepting that of the seance table over the platform 
of the weighing-machine (see Experiment 41). 
It was attempted at least a dozen times before 
being finally successful. What usually happened 
was that the pointer on the balance would move 
round to 20 lb. or so, and then, just when levita- 
tion was evidently about to occur, the little stool 
would topple over, when I would have to place 
it upright again. It seemed to me that some- 
thing was trying to get under the stool, but. 



COMPRESSION SPRING BALANCE 131 

owing to the small amount of space available, 
and to the height of the platform, was unsuc- 
cessful. At length, however, just when I was 
about to give up the experiment, even in spite 
of the desire of the operators, who told me by 



->- Levitated Stool. 
Weight, 21b. 12o2. 



13 



i 




-^ Drawing 
Board, 
weight, 5*2 lb. 



-> Pointer reading 24i4lb. 



Fig. 19. 

raps to hold on, the stool went up about 8 in. 
into the air and remained there quite steady for 
from 8 to 10 seconds. Two such levitations 
gave for the vertical downward force on the 
balance 24 lb., and two others gave 24^ lb. The 
weight of the board (with carpet) was 5^ lb., so 
that the vertical downward force on the balance 
while the stool was steadily levitated was 24^ 



132 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

(the average) — 5^- = 18f lb., or 6-8 times the 
weight of the stool. 

In order to make sure that this value of ISf 
lb. was not fictitious, during several of the 
unsuccessful attempts at levitation referred to 
above I grasped the edge of the drawing-board 
and lifted it a little. I found, as I anticipated, 
that my estimate of the downward force on the 
board agreed roughly with the reading on the 
balance. 

Eocperiment 54 : The work done in the previous 
tests gave me a fairly accurate idea as to 
what was happening below the table. In 
order to see if I could deduce what 
exactly would happen under certain con- 
ditions, I arranged an experiment in 
which the vertical reaction on the com- 
pression balance was indicated by the 
ringing of an electric bell. 

Appai^atus. — 

{a) The seance-table, weight 10 lb. 

(6) A compression balance reading to 28 lb. 

(c) An electric bell and battery with about 

20 ft. of insulated wire. 

{d) A paper-clip made of metal, such as is 

used to hold numbers of sheets of 

paper together. 

Method. — I took the little weighing-machine 

or balance, and, having scraped the insulation off 

the end of one of the electric-bell wires, attached 

the wire to the pointer of the balance. This was 



COMPRESSION SPRING BALANCE 133 

done by taking out the screw at the centre, 
twisting the end of the wire round it, and then 
screwing it back securely in place. The end of 
the other electric-bell wire was fastened securely 
to the paper-clip. The clip itself was fixed over 
the edge of the dial, and was insulated from it by 




Fig, 20. 

pieces of brown paper being placed between it 
and the surface of the dial. 

In fig. 20, P is the pan of the balance, D the 
dial, B the pointer, WW the wires going to the 
electric bell, and C the clip. The clip was fixed 
about the 20-lb. mark on the dial. The idea of 
the whole thing was that when the pointer should 
turn round sufficiently to come into contact with 
the clip, electric contact would be made and 



134 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

the bell would ring. With the seance-table of 
weight 10 lb., the actual vertical reaction was 
greater than 20 lb. (see Experiment 50), but I 
set the clip at 20 lb. so as to make sure of good 
mechanical contact. 

I placed the balance on the floor centrally 
under the table, and the bell and battery on the 
mantelpiece, letting the wires run along the 
floor. There was a clear space of at least 15 in. 
between pan of balance and under surface of 
table. I placed a piece of rough dark cloth 
on the pan. I expected to find the following 
results during levitation of the table over the 
balance : — 

(1) The bell would start ringing a second or 
two before levitation actually took place. 

(2) During levitation the bell would probably 
ring continuously. 

(3) The varying height of the levitation would 
probably make no diflerence to the ringing of 
the bell. 

As a matter of fact, when levitation was in 
progress the above three results were exactly 
what were obtained. 

I recommend an experimenter, if he has a 
levitating medium at hand, to carry out this ex- 
periment. It is simple and also effective, for the 
observer can take a stroll round the circle while 
it is going on, can see the table levitated, can 
hear the bell ringing, and can see that all hands 
are held in chain order and that feet are on the 
floor. He can also ask the members of the circle 



COMPRESSION SPRING BALANCE 135 



to hold their hands up to the level of their heads, 
and make other tests that occur to him. 

Experiment 55 : To discover what would happen 
when, the medium having been placed 
on weighing-machine, and a compression 
balance having been placed under the 
table, the table levitated. 

Fig. 21 shows the arrangement. M is the 
medium seated on the weighing-machine, T is 






Fig. 21. 

the levitated table, and B is the compression 
balance. 

I first of all balanced exactly the weight of 
medium, chair, and drawing-board (it was 9 st. 
10 lb. 12 oz.), and allowed the steelyard to rest 
lightly on the bottom stop. Then 1 placed the 
14-lb. compression balance (see Experiment 44) 
under the table and asked for levitation. I kept 
my finger tightly on the pointer of the balance. 
Unfortunately, this experiment is in nowise 
complete, and I never had an opportunity of 



136 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

repeating it (though I may hope for one in the 
future), and the result obtained, while accurate 
so far as it goes, is not exact as regards figures. 
During levitation the pointer of the compression 
balance was hard up against the stop. I asked 
the operators to drop the table suddenly, which 
they did, and the pointer on the compression 
balance immediately flew back round the dial 
to zero. Four seconds afterwards the click of 
the steelyard of the weighing-machine was heard 
as it fell on the bottom stop ; that is to say, 
while the table was levitated there was a vertical 
reaction on the compression balance, and also an 
increased weight on the medium. 

The four seconds was the computation from 
three similar tests, and was made by me and also 
by an independent observer. This time lag has, 
I think, no significance, being due solely to the 
inertia of the moving parts of the weighing- 
machine. 

How much extra weight was on the medium 
while the table was in the air above the balance 
I am unable to say ; probably, as I shall show 
later on, not an amount equal to the weight of 
the table. 

Experiment 56 : Crackling sound in the wood 
of surface of table during levitation. 

During one of the tests mentioned in this 
chapter, I heard a sort of crackling sound in 
the wood of the under surface of the table just 
when levitation was commencing, as though 



COMPRESSION SPRING BALANCE 137 

the fibres were being subjected to stress — to a 
stress which was pushing them apart from one 
another, as it were. I have only heard this 
particular kind of sound on two occasions. 

Experiment 57 : Thud under table at com- 
mencement of levitation. 

During one of the levitations 1 heard a soft 
thud under the centre of the top of the table 
as if a column of some softish substance had 
been pushed on it. I remarked on this to the 
members of the circle, and on the very next 
levitation I again heard the same light thud. 
It would seem that the operators had heard 
what I had said and had repeated the perform- 
ance for my benefit. These were the only occa- 
sions on which I ever heard the noise. Possibly 
it was the impact of the levitating force delivered 
a little more heavily than usual. 



CHAPTER VIII 

COMPLETION OF THE EXPERIMENTS ON 
LEVITATION 

Experiment 58 : The effect of placing a charged 
electroscope under the levitated table. 

I took an electroscope of the disc type, charged 
it, and placed it nearly centrally under the 
steadily levitated table, allowing it to remain 
there for about half a minute. Result : no effect 
on the electroscope, the leaves remaining as 
far apart as before. 

The investigation of the space between the 
medium and the levitated table is a most im- 
portant matter. Unfortunately, this region is 
a most difficult place in which to experiment, 
for the placing of apparatus within it, or rather 
within the vital part of it, immediately breaks 
down the line of communication ; and as this 
line, or these lines, seem difficult to form, and 
once broken cause the cessation of phenomena 
for quite a long period of time, the experimenter 
has to be careful what he is doing. Also the 
unscientific meddling^with this parL of space 
is apt to be pBysically injurious to the med ium. 

138 



COMPLETION OF EXPERIMENTS 139 



Experiment 59 : Investigation of the space be- 
tween the medium and the table jerking 
about on the floor. 

Apparatus. — I had constructed a very delicate 
electric contact, consisting of two pieces of flat 
clock spring, separated from each 
other by a distance of about ^ in. 
A piece of light cardboard about 
3 in. X 3^ in. was hinged at its top 
end to a flat piece of wood, and 
rested on the top spring. The con- j| J^W 
tact was placed in an electric-bell 
circuit, and it was so adjusted that 
breathing upon it strongly was 
sufficient to make the bell ring. 

In fig. 22, W is the flat piece 
of wood ; C the piece of cardboard 
hinged at A ; S S the two pieces 
of flat spring the coming into con- 
tact of which rang the electric bell 
(not shown). 

The table was jerking about 
on the floor. I moved the con- fig. 22. 
tact-maker here and there in the 
air in front of the medium, keeping the sur- 
face of the cardboard nearest to her and 
roughly parallel to her body and perpendicular 
to any stress line likely to come from her. At 
a certain spot about 2 ft. above the floor the 
bell rang, and simultaneously the table stopped 
its movements along the floor. 



^7>S.S. 



140 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

Eooperiment 60 : Investigation of space between 
medium and levitated table. 

Appai^atus. — Same as in Experiment 59. 

I asked for levitation of the seance-table, and 
while it was in progress I moved the contact- 
maker about in front of the medium as in the 
previous test. At practically the same spot the 
bell rang again and the table instantly dropped. 
The operators would not allow me to proceed 
with the experiment. They affirmed, by means 
of raps, that the contact-maker was in the stress- 
line from medium to table. 

Experiments 59 and 60 show two things very 
plainly: (1) that the contact-maker was cutting 
across a link connecting medium to table, and 
(2) along this link there was mechanical pressure 
^'rom medium to table. 

I append some remarks I made in Light when 
describing the above experiments : — 

" I have some reason to believe that the 
establishing of these stress-lines (the links) is for 
the operators a difficult process, and that once 
formed they remain more or less in situ for the 
duration of the stance. I think they may be 
likened to tunnels somewhat laboriously cut 
through resisting material. Their basis seems to 
be physical, for I have actually felt the motion 
of material particles near the ankles (and pro- 
ceeding outwards from them) of the medium 
(the stress-lines seem to commence sometimes at 
the wrists and ankles of my medium), and I have 



COMPLETION OF EXPERIMENTS 141 

noticed during the rapping that when my hand 
interferes with the particle flow — which seems 
to correspond with a stress-line — the rapping has 
ceased for quite a long time and could seemingly 
only be restarted with difficulty. In other 
words, the path had been obliterated. I do not 
think the particles of matter (for such I am 
assuming them to be) are the cause of the 
pressure which lifts the table. I think they are 
the connecting links which allo\, the psychic 
pressure to be transmitted, much in the manner 
that a wire is the path which enables electricity 
to flow." 

Experiment 61 : Reaction on the floor below 
levitated table. 

To verify the results of previous experiments 
which showed that when the seance-table was 
levitated above the floor there was no reaction 
on the floor, I took advantage of the delicate 
contact-maker used in Experiment 59. Having 
placed it on the floor under the table, I asked for 
levitation. During the preliminary jerkings, etc., 
and also during levitation, the bell did not ring — 
showing, as was expected, that there was no 
pressure on the floor. 

Experiment 62 : Condition of the medium 
during levitation. 

During many of the levitations mentioned 
in the previous experiments I examined the 



142 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

medium. Her arms, whether held by the sitters 
on either side of her, or resting on lier knees, 
were always stiff, i.e. the muscles seemed to be 
under great stress, making the arms even some- 
times iron-like in their rigidity. Especially was 
this rigidity noticeable at the bend of the arm, 
though right from shoulder to wrist the amount 
of the muscular tension was surprising. While 
the stool was steadily levitated at the abnormal 
height of 4 feet, her arms were excessively stiff, 
even stiffer than when the seance-table, nearly 
four times as heavy, was suspended. The 
medium herself says that high levitations affect 
her muscular system most. She says the 
muscular rigidity is not confined to her arms 
but occurs all over her body, although not to 
the same extent. 

Of late months I am inclined to think that a 
change has been occurring. I do not think her 
arms are at present so rigid during levitation as 
they once were. Perhaps this is due to the re- 
action upon her becoming more diffused. 

JSrperiment 63 : Possible weight of structure 
used to levitate the table. 

I said to the operators, " I wish you to put the 
'power' you use for levitating the table under 
the table, but not to levitate it or act on it in 
any way." I repeated the request slowly several 
times. They said they thoroughly understood 
what I required. 1 had previously balanced the 



COMPLETION OF EXPERIMENTS 143 

weight of medium (who was sitting on the 
weighing-machine), chair, and drawing-board 
(see Experiments in Chapter III.). The com- 
bined weight was 9 st. 10 lb. 12 oz. I watched 
the machine carefully. The medium's weight 
began to decrease, slowly and a little spasmodi- 
cally, and it became fairly steady again at 8 st. 
10 lb., though there were fluxes below this. 
Hence, according to the operators, the weight of 
the field or structure required for levitation of 
the seance-table was about 14 lb. or 15 lb. 
But, as they may have been doubtful of my 
meaning — though they did not appear to be so, — 
I do not propose to pay much attention to this 
result. 

Experime7it 64 : Evidence of some sort of 
preparation on the part of the operators 
just previous to levitation. 

The observing of many levitation experiments 
has shown me that the operators have to make 
a preparation for the phenomenon. The follow- 
ing test, which has occurred often, will enable 
the reader to understand what I mean. The 
pan of the 28-lb. compression balance (used in 
some of the experiments already described) was 
not fixed tightly on the stem of the balance, 
but was a loose fit upon it. 

In fig. 23 the pan P is shown fitting 
loosely over the circular socket A, from which 
it can be removed by simply raising it up. The 



144 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

consequence of the loose fit is that if the pan 
is Hghtly shaken it rattles. When I placed 
this balance below the table and asked for 
levitation, what usually happened was that from 
half a minute to a minute before levitation the 
pan M^'ould rattle, although of course no one 
was touching it. On these occasions no pressure 
was registered on the balance. So regularly was 




Fig. 23. 

this the case with levitation over this particular 
balance, that I had to come to the conclusion 
that what was happening was that the operators 
were laying some kind of a line, structure, sub- 
stratum — call it what you will — from the medium 
to the pan of the balance, and that this was 
an essential and necessary preliminary to the 
accomplishment of the phenomenon. 

The following notes are taken from one of 
my articles in Light on this same matter, and 
deal in a general way with other balances than 



COMPLETION OF EXPERIMENTS 145 

the one mentioned above — i.e. balances in which 
the pan was rigidly fixed : — 

"Suppose I am working at compression- 
balance experiments below the table. At the 
conclusion of each test I usually bring a fairly 
strong light right into the centre of the circle, 
in order thoroughly to examine instruments and 
so on. When I do this, the next levitation 
required does not commence at once, but may 
take a few minutes. Before it commences I 
become conscious that preparations are being 
made for it, by a kind of shock being given to 
the apparatus, a shock which does not produce 
pressure. Perhaps a quarter or half a minute 
later levitation occurs. It would seem that a 
line was being made, so to speak, and that the 
phenomenon could not ensue until it was 
properly in position. Witness the thud of the 
supposed column, well before levitation (see 
Experiment 57). If I do not bring a white light 
into the circle, levitations follow one another 
rapidly, for the structure seems not to be dis- 
turbed and therefore does not require to be 
renewed or partially renewed." 

Experivient Q5 : The presence of actual matter 
below the levitated table. 

On one occasion, while the table was levitated 
(it was a difficult case of the phenomenon over 
a compression balance) I placed my hand under 
it near the top. As in previous tests, I felt no 

10 



146 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

sense of pressure whatever, but I did feel a 
clammy, cold, almost oily sensation — in fact, an 
indescribable sensation, as though the air there 
were mixed with particles of dead and dis- 
agreeable matter. Perhaps the best word to 
describe the feeling is "reptilian." I have felt 
the same substance often — and I think it is a 
substance — in the vicinity of the medium, but 
there it has appeared to me to be moving out- 
wards from her. Once felt, the experimenter 
always recognises it again. This was the only 
occasion on which I have felt it under the 
levitated table, though perhaps it is always 
there, but not usually in such an intense 
form. Its presence under the table and also 
in the vicinity of the medium shows that it 
has something to do with the levitation ; and 
in short I think there can be little doubt that 
it is actual matter temporarily taken from the 
medium's body and put back at the end of the 
seance, and that it is the basic principle under- 
lying the transmission of psychic force. 

The table soon dropped when I moved my 
hand to and fro in amongst this psychic stuiF. 

Experiment QQ : To find how much weight is 
permanently lost by each sitter during 
the seance. 

I took the weight of each sitter at the begin- 
ning and the end of the seance, which lasted for 
about an hour and a half. The following are the 
results : — 



COMPLETION OF EXPERIMENTS 147 



Names of sitters. 


Weight before 
seance. 


Weight after 
seance. 


Miss Kathleen Goligher (medium) 

Mr Goligher .... 

Miss Anna Goligher . 

Miss Lily Goligher . 

Mrs Morrison .... 

Mr Morrison .... 


8 St. 6 lb. 6 oz. 
8 ,, 13 ,, 8 ,, 
7„ 1 „ 4 „ 
5,, 7 ,, 4 ,, 
7 ,, 5 ,, 12 ,, 
9„ 9 „ 12 „ 


8 St. 6 lb. 4 oz. 

8 ,, 13 „ 8 „ 
7,, 1 ,, 2 „ 
5 ,, 7 ,, 2 „ 
7,, 5 „ 6 ,, 

9 ,, 9 ,, 11 ,, 


Dr Crawford .... 


10 „ 9 ,, 14 „ 


10,, 9 ,, 8 ,, 



At the close of the seance, and just before the 
re-weighing, Mr Morrison in a moment of forget- 
fulness drank half a glass of water. This was 
weighed and the amount subtracted from his 
final weight, which may, however, be an ounce 
or two out. One of the members of the circle, 
Master Sam Goligher, was absent on holiday. 

Most careful weighings were made. All pre- 
cautions were taken that nobody should possess 
a handkerchief, say, at the conclusion of the 
sitting who did not possess it at the beginning. 

It will be seen that I have included myself in 
the weighings, although I was not a member of 
the circle but was moving in and out of it all 
the time attending to the experimental work 
on hand. 

When we study this result we see that there is 
an almost general permanent loss of weight, for, 
with the exception of one sitter, everybody lost 
a little. In no case does it amount to much 
more than a few ounces. It will be noted with 
interest that the medium lost only two ounces. 



148 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 



The greatest sufferers seem to have been Mrs 
Morrison and myself, who both lost six ounces, 
the maximum in any individual case. 



Total weight of sitters, 

including myself, 

before seance. 


Total weight of sitters, 

including myself, 

after seance. 


Total loss of 

weight at end 

of seance. 


57 St. 11 lb. 12 oz. 


57 St. 10 lb. 9 oz. 


1 lb. 3 oz. 



Now, the question arises with regard to this 
experiment how far this permanent loss of weight 
of 19 oz. is due to phenomenal activities and how 
far to natural causes. The sitting was held on a 
very warm evening (temperature about 70° F.), 
and the room was somewhat small. There was 
a considerable amount of phenomena. 

As to the losses of weight due to natural 
causes I am not able to speak. Personally, while 
without expert knowledge on the subject, I 
would not have thought there could have been 
such a loss by natural causes alone, even on a 
warm summer evening in a small room. 

The next question that arises is regarding my 
own loss of weight. 1 was not a member of the 
circle. I was moving about the room practically 
all the time, in and out of the circle, attending to 
the experimental work on hand. Now, were the 
entities taking matter from me ? That is, if 
people other than the regular sitters are in the 
room, altogether outside the chain of the circle, 
can the operators abstract matter from them for 



COMPLETION OF EXPERIMENTS 149 

the production of psychic energy ? Or is the 
abstraction confined to members of the circle? 
It looks as though the former is the case. 

It is not so much a question as to whether the 
members of the circle are used in some way by 
the operating entities, as to whether matter is 
permanently extracted from the bodies of the 
members. That the members of the circle are 
of some use may easily be observed. Occasion- 
ally when I have experimented with a member 
short I think I have noticed that phenomena 
were not so powerful or prolonged. But a 
surer sign that the members of the circle are 
used is the tremendous spasmodic jerk that goes 
round the whole circle just previous to a difficult 
levitation being attempted by the operators, 
especially when psychic energy has been some- 
what wanting and there does not seem to be any 
reservoir of it to draw upon, so to speak. At 
such a time I have asked the operators to produce 
levitation. In a few seconds the members would 
be overtaken with a severe spasmodic jerk which 
seemed to travel right round the circle. Then 
perhaps a quarter of a minute afterwards levita- 
tion would occur. I have noticed this too often 
to be deceived about it. 

During the opening of a stance, say for the 
first quarter of an hour, the bodies of the sitters 
are usually subjected to intermittent muscular 
jerking. After that period of time this ceases 
altogether, or only takes place occasionally. It 
seems to me that the meaning of the process is 



150 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

that something is being loosened from the bodies 
of the members of the circle — a something which 
then circulates round the sitters either through 
their bodies or in space immediately surrounding 
their bodies. 

Experiment 67 : An X-ray fluorescent screen 
(platino-cyanide of barium) placed below 
levitated table. 

While the table was steadily levitated, I placed 
an X-ray fluorescent screen below it and in space 
surrounding it (the room was darkened for the 
purpose.) 

Result. — There was no sign of fluorescence. 



CHAPTER IX 

A CANTILEVER THEORY FOR LEVITATION 

I PROPOSE in this chapter to bring forward a 
theory for levitation based chiefly on the results 
of the sixty-seven experiments already described. 
Let us first of all consider for a little the 
results of Experiment 50. It will be remem- 
bered that the seance-table was steadily levitated 
over a compression balance, and that a large 
vertical downward force was noted ; experiment 
also showed that there was a pushing force from 
the medium. The values, as the result of much 
careful experimenting, were as follows : — 

Weight of seance-table . . . = lOf lb. 
Vertical downward force on compres- 
sion balance during levitation . = 30 lb. 
Horizontal pushing force from medium = 5^ lb. 

Besides obtaining the above values, I also 
took the distance of medium from table, the 
height of the top of her head from the floor, 
distance of her knees from the table, and so on. 
I then set out a scale diagram of her position, 
and the positions of table and of compression 

151 



152 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

balance. The first point in the inquiry was to 
see if the levitation of the table could be ex- 
plained by any system of two, three, or even 
four forces in equilibrium, taking the three 
known quantities enumerated above derived 
from experiment. The result, however, was 
failure. No system of simple statics will ex- 



Fig. 24. 

plain the phenomenon — at any rate, so far as 
I can see. 

When I had convinced myself of this, I had 
to look around for another theory, and the one 
that seemed to me most likely was the " beam " 
theory, and in particular the " cantilever." 

A cantilever is a beam firmly fixed at one 
end and free at the other. 

In fig. 24, A is the cantilever firmly built into 
the wall K. A weight W is shown suspended 
from the free end. Let us suppose the medium 



A CANTILEVER THEORY 153 

takes the place of the wall and that the canti- 
lever projects from her in the manner shown, 
and that the table during levitation takes the 
place of the weight W. As to the structure 
of this psychic cantilever I am not at present 
concerned, and am only dealing with the idea 
that a cantilever — resembling in its qualities 
a rigid beam — is in reality present. I propose 
to see, in effect, if the theory of the cantilever 
explains the mechanics of the levitated table. 

(1) During steady levitation above the floor 
with no apparatus below the table, the weight 
of the table is practically added to that of the 
medium (Experiments 2, 3, 4). 

This agrees with the cantilever theory. The 
beam being free at the end, it is obvious that 
the weight added to it is in effect added to 
the medium. 

(2) The medium is under stress. The muscles 
of her arms from wrist to shoulder are stiff 
and often iron-like in their rigidity, and other 
parts of her body are affected similarly, though 
to a less degree (Experiment 62). 

At the root of the cantilever there is a shear- 
ing force W and a bending moment Wl ; hence 
we would expect to see some signs of distress 
on the part of the medium. The bending 
moment, although somewhat variable, is seldom 
less than 250 lb. -in., if we take the psychic 
cantilever as fixed to the trunk of the medium. 

(3) There is no reaction on the floor under 
the table (Experiments 38, 51, 52, 61). 



154 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

This agrees with the cantilever theory. The 
free end being up in the air, the weight W 
depresses it a Httle, but does not affect the 
floor in any way. For a long time I was under 
the impression that some kind of psychic equi- 
librium was established, and that there was a 
reaction upon the floor ; that, in fact, the read- 
ings on the compression balances represented 
the reaction upon the floor. This, however, was 
not so. Close to the floor, and on the floor, in 
normal levitation, there is no reaction. 

Likewise there is no reaction or pressure on 
the floor between the table and the medium ; 
for I have often moved my arms, hands, and 
experimental apparatus freely in this space, and 
so long as I kept them on or near the floor the 
phenomenon was not in the least affected. 

(4) Besides the reaction on the medium practi- 
cally equal to the weight of the table, there is a 
slight reaction upon other members of the circle. 
It would appear that about 95 per cent, of the 
weight of the table is on the medium and the 
remaining 5 per cent, on the sitters (Experi- 
ments 5 and 6). This involves slight modifica- 
tion of the cantilever theory. The free end is 
actually not quite free, but is supported very 
slightly by weak cantilevers from other members 
of the circle. However, the amount of support 
is so small that it may be neglected. 

(5) I have sometimes noticed, during powerful 
levitation, that if muscular force is applied to 
the table somewhere in a line towards the 



A CANTILEVER THEORY 155 

medium a solid resistance is encountered, 
whereas if the table is depressed vertically 
an elastic resistance is felt (Experiments 18, 
19, 20). 

This agrees with the cantilever theory. The 
beam would be more or less rigid to forces along 
its length and elastic to forces applied perpen- 
dicular to its length. 

(6) The cantilever itself, though invisible, may 
have weight (Experiment 63). 

The material of the psychic cantilever, if 
taken from the medium, would not affect the 
weight of the medium, as it projects from her 
and is not supported anywhere over its length. 
This would agree with all experiments, indi- 
cating as they do that during levitation no 
diminution of the weight of the medium is 
ever noted. 

(7) There is a critical distance of the medium 
from table required for levitation (Experiment 
10, and p. 56). This may have to do with the 
structure of the cantilever. It is possibly not 
a simple rod as shown in fig. 24, but may be 
compounded of several arms, and the coalescing 
of these arms may require that the medium be 
not too far from nor too near the table. 

(8) 1 will now go into the puzzling results de- 
scribed in Chapter VII. (Experiments 50 and 
53) ; they are as follows : — 

(a) While the seance-table, weight lOf lb., was 
steadily levitated, there was, upon a compres- 
sion balance placed centrally on the floor beneath 



156 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

it, a vertical downward force of 30 lb., or 
2*89 times the weight of the table ; there was 
also a horizontal pushing force of 5^ lb. from 
the medium ; and the vertical and horizontal 
forces were not separate and distinct, but were 
components of a single force. 

{b) While a stool, of weight 2 lb. 12 oz., was 
steadily levitated over a drawing-board placed 




Fig. 25. 

on top of a compression balance, there was a 
vertical downward force upon the balance of 
18f lb., or 6*8 times the weight of the stool. 

How are these experimental values, of whose 
practical correctness there can be no doubt, to 
be explained on the cantilever theory? 

Fig. 25 indicates the cantilever A projecting 
from the medium M. It is shown in its 
unstrained normal position. The free end B 
is probably, on its under side, within 6 in. of 
the floor. 

Fig. 26 shows the cantilever when in a 



A CANTILEVER THEORY 



157 



strained unnatural position owing to the end 
B ha^dng to be raised to the level of the pan 
of the compression balance. As the beam is 
elastic, it will in this latter position press 
downwards and outwards on the top of the 
balance, as indicated by the direction line of 
the force P. It is obvious that the force P 
can be resolved into vertical and horizontal 




Fig. 26. 

components, and I think there can be little 
doubt that the &0 lb. and 5\ lb. of Experiment 
50 are these components. 

On this theory, then, the stiffness of the 
structure of the cantilever accounts for the 
mystifying readings on the compression balances. 
The reader can form a very fair idea of what 
is occurring by a simple experiment. Let him 
take a long flat wooden or steel rule, firmly 
hold one end, and press the other end against 
some small article placed above the level of 
the end which he is holding. When the rule 



158 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

bends, as shown on fig. 26, he will be able to 
appreciate that he is applying a downward and 
outward force as mentioned above. 

In both experiments {a) and (b) the height of 
the platform from which levitation was effected 
was about the same, viz. 13^ in. and 14 in. re- 
spectively. In case (a) the downward force was 
30 lb., and in {b) 18f lb. ; why, if the heights 
are about the same, are the downward forces not 
the same ? The cantilever end would have to be 
bent upwards practically the same amount in 
each case. The answer to this, of course, is that 
the cantilever is not so stiff in case (b) as in {a). 
The weight of the levitated body in {a) is lOf lb., 
and in {b) 2f lb. Hence the operators would 
not require to devise such a stiff cantilever in {b) 
as in (a), and therefore such a cantilever would 
be more easily bent upwards from its normal 
position, and would not exert such a large down- 
ward force on the balance. 

The following paragraph was written before 
Experijne7its 51 and 52 were devised and carried 
out : — 

" The question arises as to how the vertical 
downward force on the compression balance 
varies quantitatively with the height of the pan 
of the balance. If the cantilever proposition 
be true, I would expect that (1) on the floor 
there would be no force — which seems from ex- 
periment to be the case ; (2) as the pan of the 
balance is gradually raised in height there would 



A CANTILEVER THEORY 159 

be a position for it when the bottom of the end 
of the cantilever would be reached, at which 
point downward force^ would begin to be regis- 
tered on the balance ; and (3) as the pan is further 
raised the vertical force would become greater 
and greater as the end of the cantilever was 
continually bent upwards." 

It is satisfactory to find that when Experi- 
ments 51 and 52 were carried out, the three 
suppositions above mentioned were found to be 
actually and literally true. The only thing I 
found at variance with expectations was that the 
vertical downward force did not increase in any 
regular fashion, but there was gradual and then 
quick and then again a gradual period of increase 
with varying height. Furthermore, the three 
tests did not give identical readings for the same 
size of platform and the same height, yet they 
gave the same kind of general conclusion. It is 
not to be expected that the results would be 
identical, for it is reasonable to suppose that the 
length of the cantilever would vary somewhat on 
different evenings, and even at different times on 
the same evening, and its general shape might be 
subject to some slight alteration also. 

It is seen from fig. 26 that the horizontal 
component of the outward reaction force on the 
end of the cantilever is only present when its end 
is bent upwards. There would be no horizontal 
component with normal levitation over the floor 
when the free end is unconstrained. I have not 



160 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

had an opportunity of carrying out experiments 
for the purpose of discovering the quantitative 
relation between the horizontal component and 
the height of the platform, but I expect it would 
be a gradually increasing one, commencing at 
zero where the height of the platform was such 
as to register no vertical reaction, and increasing 
more or less proportionally with the vertical re- 
action. I intend, if I have the chance, to carry 
out this experiment some time in the future. 

Experiments 59 and 60 show clearly that in 
the space between the medium and the levitated 
table there are one or more lines or tubes of stress 
(I think it is better to call them tubes), for the 
table instantly dropped when the electric contact- 
maker got in the way, and simultaneously the 
bell rang, indicating mechanical pressure (although 
it may be of very small magnitude) from the 
medium. The tube of stress did not seem to be 
of very large cross-section, perhaps not more than 
a few square inches ; for I had to move the ap- 
paratus here and there in front of the medium 
before I struck it, and I did not strike it at once. 
Close to the medium the stress tube was about 
two feet above the floor (in the neighbourhood of 
her knees). On the other hand. Experiments 51 
and 52 show that under the table mechanical 
pressure is first apparent on the pan of a com- 
pression balance when the pan is about 3 inches 
above floor level. These two sets of results, there- 
fore, point to a cantilever theory of levitation. 
They indicate that a cantilever begins somewhere 



A CANTILEVER THEORY 161 

in the body of the medium and projects in a 
downward direction until it is below the table 
and a few inches above the floor. All experi- 
ments show that on the floor itself, under the 
table, and between table and medium there is 
absolutely no pressure, and that the structure is 
a true cantilever and is not supported anywhere 
over its length. 

The question then arises as to whether the 
cantilever is straight or curved. Does it re- 
semble a simple straight rod inclining down- 
wards from the medium, or is its shape more 
complex ? On this point I have not such 
definite evidence as I have on the points 
already discussed. Reviewing all the experi- 
ments and deducing the most likely results, 
I think the shape of the levitating structure 
beneath the table is not far off that shown in 
the accompanying fig. 27, which indicates the 
cantilever diagrammatically. It consists of two 
main portions, A and B. A is a slightly curved 
arm springing from and firmly fixed to the 
medium M, while B is a vertical column rising 
from and continuous with its extremity C. The 
levitated table is supported at the summit T 
of the column. The reason for the slightly 
arched shape of the arm is to give additional 
rigidity to the structure. When the pan of 
a compression balance is under the table at a 
height greater than three inches from the floor, 
the end C presses downwards on it and causes 
forces to be registered such as those given in 

11 



162 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 



the tabulation to Experiments 51 and 52. In 
Experiments 59 and 60 the electric contact- 
maker when the bell rang was cutting across 
the arm A. 

I say nothing here as to how a structure 
possessing the characteristics of a cantilever 
such as that sketched, and which can support 
at its extremity for five minutes or more a body 




Fig. 27. 

weighing 10 lb., can be produced from apparently 
nothing. I will have something to say about 
that later on. 

The cantilever above sketched is in my 
opinion only a particular case of the method 
by which the operators produce nearly all their 
phenomena. Levitation of the table is a 
delicate piece of work, inasmuch as a very nice 
balance has to be obtained ; it is not simply 
a question of shoving the table here and there 



A CANTILEVER THEORY 163 

without consideration of such things as equi- 
Ubrium and balance. 

Accordingly we find, as might have been 
expected, that the preliminary operations before 
levitation occurs at all occupy some little time. 
A line or physical means of communication 
seems to be put down from medium to table 
(see Experiment 64); and when this is "well 
and truly laid," psychic force is exerted along 
it {i.e. it is stiffened into a rigid cantilever). 

The whole arm A C T in fig. 27 takes the 
shape shown in order that the particular 
phenomenon in hand (levitation) may be most 
accurately accomplished, but that is not the 
only shape it may have. It is only the best 
shape for levitation purposes. 

Let us suppose that the operators desired 
to grip the table in the strongest possible 
manner — that is to say, to move it about the 
room in the most powerful way in order to 
impress a visitor who has hold of it by the top 
and who is endeavouring to prevent motion. 
What do we find ? Turn to Experiment 26. 

The diagram in that experiment is reproduced 
in fig. 28. We find that the operators under 
such conditions, when delicate balancing work 
is not required, but when magnitude of psychic 
force is the all-important thing, tilt the edge of 
the table some 40 degrees with the horizontal 
in the direction of the medium. I think there 
can be absolutely no doubt they do this in 
order that they may take the strongest possible 



164 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 




grip with the canti- 
lever arm. No pre- 
Hminary operations 
are needed ; the 
table simply tilts, 
and a short, almost 
straight arm pro- 
jects from medium 
on to the under sur- 
face of table. 

Many other ex- 
periments and ob- 
servations also sug- 
gest that the shape 
of the cantilever 
arm required for 
levitation is only one 
particular shape of 
the arm, and that 
certain other shapes 
are possible. A very 
rough analogy is the 
trunk of an ele- 
phant. For delicate 
levitation work the 
trunk is made into 
the shape shown 
in fig. 27, while 
for rough powerful 
work it is made 
straight, short, and 
thick. The ex- 



A CANTILEVER THEORY 165 

tremity of the arm projecting from the medium 
seems able to grip by some adhesive power the 
wood of the table or certain other articles with 
which it comes into contact ; i.e. there is reason 
to believe that a levitated table is not simply 
resting upon the suinmit of the cantilever 
column, but that it is firmly fixed to it, as 
though glued. The following experiments on 
psychic pull and push will make this matter and 
other matters dealt with in this chapter clearer ; 
for it often happens that observations of the 
most elementary nature give us information of 
the highest importance where so little has been 
done and so much remains to be accomplished. 

Experiment 68 : To make some investigations 
on the psychic pull. 

When the seance table stands on the floor 
within the circle the operators can pull it along 
the floor right up to the body of the medium. 

How is this done ? 

Fig. 29 gives the position of the table with 
reference to the medium. MN represents its 
long edge. Round the legs of the top runs the 
framework, about 2^ in. deep (not shown). The 
table was placed within the circle on the floor 
so that its length MN was parallel to the front 
of the medium's body, with its nearest edge 
about 2 ft. distant from her. I stood behind 
the table directly opposite her. 1 said to the 
operators, " Please pull table in towards medium." 
I slightly held the edge nearest me. The table 



,jyg. 



166 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

was immediately pulled in towards the medium, 
but it did not go in with the edge MN parallel 
to her body. As it began to move, the corner 
N got ahead, and consequently the motion was 
a more or less cornerwise one. I said to the 
members of the circle, " It looks as though the 
leg (at N) has something to do with the move- 
ment. Let us see if the table can be pulled in 
from the other corner M." No sooner had I 
spoken than the operators pulled it in towards 



Fig. 29. 

the medium with the corner M projecting and 
the table tending to turn about that corner. 
I said to the operators, " Have you a rod 
projecting round one of the legs, and do you 
pull the table in in that fashion ? " Answer, 
vehemently, " No." Question : " Can you pull 
the table in to the medium so that the edge 
MN remains parallel to her body, and so that 
the table does not go in cornerwise with one 
leg in advance of the other ? " This was no 
sooner asked than the table was pulled in as 
I desired, with the edge MN parallel to her 
body during the whole movement. It was done 



A CANTILEVER THEORY 167 

half a dozen times, so that I might make quite 
certain of it. The table could be pulled right 
up to her body until it was in contact with her, 
or the forward motion could be stopped at any 
instant or at any desired place. There could, 
therefore, be no doubt that the table could be 
drawn in straight to the medium in such a way 
that it was difficult to imagine anything in the 
nature of a slightly flexible rod getting round 
a leg. I (and the members of the circle, includ- 
ing the medium) began to ask questions of the 
operators and comment on how it was done. 
We asked if a grip was taken behind the frame- 
work. They answered, " No." We exhausted 
all the methods we could think of for applying 
a direct pull round any projection. The uniform 
reply was, "No." They said the grip was taken 
on the under surface of the table. At last 1 
asked, "Is the table brought in by a suction 
effect ? " There were immediately three loud 
and almost joyous raps in the affirmative. 
Further inquiries and tests make me almost 
certain that it is even as the operators say. 
What happens is, in my estimation, as follows 
(see fig. 27) : — The cantilever arm gets under 
the table — probably a more or less straight arm 
in this case, as there is little stress. Whatever 
the physical composition of the substratum of 
the end of the arm may be, it has the power 
to take an adhesive grip on certain substances, 
such as wood, with which it comes into contact. 
The broad columnar end of the arm grips 



168 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

adhesively the under surface of the table, and 
the operators simply pull the whole psychic arm 
into the body of the medium. In other words, 
the psychic arm or cantilever can be moved 
straight into and out from the body of the 
medium — can be absorbed in her or projected 
from her. 

Let me now state the motions which are 
possible to the table standing on the floor within 
the circle — motions which I have experimentally 
verified in every case. The table may be moved 
by psychic force : — 

(1) Directly inwards towards medium until 
it is in contact with her body ; (2) directly out- 
wards from medium ; (3) in a sideways direction 
either to right or left (this is a very common 
movement, for if, during levitation experiments, 
I place the table on the floor not exactly in 
the position desired by the operators, they 
promptly move it a little to one side — see p. 56) ; 
(4) practically any direction within the circle, 
as is evidently possible from combinations of 
the three principal movements enumerated in 
(1), (2), and (3). 

Returning now to the psychic pull. In 
Experiment 68 the table was pulled directly 
inwards towards medium, against friction. 

Experiment 69 : To investigate the pyschic pull 
when the table is lifted. 

I lifted the table into the air and asked the 
operators to pull in as before, which they did 



A CANTILEVER THEORY 



169 



immediately. The pull was very perceptible, 
and, contrary to my expectations, its place of 
application seemed somewhat low down under 
the table, perhaps about a foot above the floor. 
Several tests gave the same kind of result. 
Moreover, the pulling body (if I may so 
express it) seemed to my sense of feeling as 
though it were pretty solid and not at all soft 
and elastic. The table, in fact, was well and 
solidly gripped. Now, the cantilever theory 
shows a psychic arm like this — 



Table here 

K^ ^--,.=««™«-_ Column 

M 




Fig. 30. 



Can the psychic pull be explained on this 
theory? I think so. The column gets under 
the table and grips by adhesion its under 
surface ; the operators then absorb the arm 
bit by bit into the body of the medium. 



170 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

the whole cantilever being thus continually 
shortened, and finally disappearing into the 
body of the medium ; the place of application 
of the pulling force is C, at the foot of the 
column, and this accounts for the direction 
of pull appearing to be from well beneath 
the surface of the table. The psychic push 
is the opposite process, the cantilever being 
pushed out from the body of the medium. 
The arm can also move to and fro sideways. 
It is thus obvious that the arm has a range of 
action practically over the whole region within 
the circle, as well as over a considerable 
space outside the circle in the vicinity of the 
medium. 

Let us now apply the cantilever theory to 
some more of the experimental results with 
regard to levitation and see how it fits in. 

Take the case of the four tables levitated 
over the platform of the weighing-machine 
(Chapter VI. ). Two of these tables were levitated 
with the surface practically level, and two with 
the surface at angles of about 30 degrees with 
the horizonal. It is to be noted it was with the 
smaller-sized tables (tables 3 and 4) that the 
inclination occurred. Does it not seem likely 
that the operators experienced difficulty in get- 
ting their levitating structure properly beneath 
these tables, owing to the relatively small area of 
surface and to the fact that the tables were rest- 
ing on the top of the platform of the machine, 
a height of about 7 in. ? And that in conse- 



A CANTILEVER THEORY 



171 



quence the cantilever, instead of being* what 
I may call the standard shape of fig. 27, was 
for convenience more like fig. 31 ? 

The reader should bear in mind that the thick- 
ness of the arm shown in figs. 27-31 has 
no significance. The real thickness of the arms 
is probably very much greater than that 



Levitated 



Table. 




Fig. 31. 

sketched, perhaps being in the vicinity of that 
shown in fig. 32. 

The part A is probably narrow, and the arm 
broadens and deepens out below the table 
at B ; the part A may even consist of two 
or three arms springing from various parts of 
the body of the medium and coalescing into 
one large portion in the neighbourhood of 
the table. 



172 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

The cantilever theory throws some light on 
the anomalous results of Chapter VI. In the 
case of the levitation of the stool over the 
platform of the w^eighing-machine, it will be 
remembered that the steelyard was quite stiff 
during the levitation, and immediately regained 




Fig. 32. 

its sensitiveness when the levitation was over 
(Experiment 43). Probably what was happen- 
ing was that the levitating structure was in- 
clined at some such angle as is shown in 
fig. 31, with the consequence that there was 
a rather heavy horizontal component of the 
reaction which pushed the platform over on its 
bearings and caused friction ; for it must be 



A CANTILEVER THEORY 173 

remembered that to suit special cases and 
conditions the levitating cantilever is likely to 
assume various shapes and forms in conformity 
to the principle of least work, and that thereby 
the magnitude and direction of reaction under 
it are liable to vary. 

In Experiment 55 it was shown that while a 
compression balance on the floor under the table 
was registering vertical reaction during levitation, 
the medium herself was heavier than she normally 
is. Unfortunately, I did not find the actual 
increase of her weight for this levitation, which 
increase was probably due to the strained condi- 
tion of the cantilever. 

In Experiment 57 a thud was heard on the 
under surface of the table just before levitation. 
Is this not likely to have been the top of the 
broad column beneath the table being applied 
rather more vigorously than usual to the under- 
surface ? When I remarked on the thud it 
was immediately repeated for my edification. I 
take it that it was audible demonstration of 
the preliminary preparation required for the 
phenomenon. 

In Experiment 24 I have shown that the table 
may be turned upside down on the floor, and 
that the experimenter may seize hold of the 
legs and try to lift it and be unable to do so. 
Fig. 33 shows what probably happens in that 
case. The psychic arm emanating from medium 
broadens out on to the under surface of table 
and presses directly upon it, for it must be re- 



^sssim^mi, 



174 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

membered that experiment shows the arm may 
(1) push directly outwards from medium, (2) pull 
directly inwards, (3) move about with medium 
as fulcrum within the circle. For levitation and 
similar phenomena the arm is locked (fixed) 
within the body of the medium. 




Fig. 33. 



In Experiment 29 I held a small metal trumpet 
out into the air, and in a short time it was given 
a strong forward pull that almost snatched it 
from my grip. What happened then was, on 
the present theory, that a psychic arm was pro- 
jected from the medium, and the end of this, 
after a little manoeuvring, gripped by adhesion 
the end of the trumpet ; the arm was then pulled 
quickly into the body of the medium ; and so 
strong was the pull that the adhesion gave way 



A CANTILEVER THEORY 175 

and the experimenter only felt a sudden snatch. 
It is to be noted that some twenty seconds elapsed 
from the commencement of this experiment until 
the jerk occurred, indicating that a period of 
preparation was needed, much in the way that a 
period of preparation is required for levitation. 

I have sometimes observed another experiment 
with the trumpet which has interesting features 
in connection with it. 

Experiment 70 : The trumpet waving to and fro 
in the air and endeavouring to place itself 
on the surface of the table. 

The trumpet is at the commencement of the 
seance placed on the floor under the table. 
After a while it rises and the thin end pro- 
jects well from below the table (fig. 34) on the 
side remote from the medium and waves to 
and fro in the air horizontally, beating time to 
a tune for five minutes or more. This has 
happened many times. But the next process is 
not so common — I have only seen it some three 
times. After waving about in the air for some 
time, the small end of the trumpet — that project- 
ing beyond the table — rises until it touches the 
edge of the table, then the trumpet slides bodily 
up the ledge, by short sharp jerks, at the same 
time bending over to the top surface, while the 
thick end comes out from below the table. 

Three successive positions are shown on fig. 
35 which will make the description clearer. 
When it gets into the position (3), the whole 



176 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

trumpet can be clearly seen apparently in contact 
with nothing. Further strong shoves are then 
given it in an endeavour to slide it up the ledge 
and jerk it on to the surface of the table. I my- 
self have observed the trumpet one stage farther 
advanced on its journey than (3), but I have not 




Fig. 34. 

seen the actual completion of the experiment. 
On the occasions I have witnessed the pheno- 
menon the operators were unable to succeed with 
the final necessary jerk. However, the sitters 
inform me that it has been completely successful 
on one occasion. 

I take it that the psychic arm had hold of the 
trumpet by adhesion at its thick end, and that 
the various motions given to it were more or 
less those I have dealt with already. 

This experiment of the movement of the 
trumpet, the waving to and fro in the air keeping 



A CANTILEVER THEORY 



177 



time to a tune, and the motions described above 
about the ledge of the table may be interesting 
to those who at " dark " seances have heard the 
" voices " through a trumpet which was presum- 
ably moving about the room. 

In Experiment 22 it was stated that when the 
table stands on the floor within the circle it can 




Fig. 35, 

be made on request almost as light as a feather 
or so heavy that it cannot be lifted. 

Now, it has been shown (Chapter VII, Ex- 
periments 45, 47, etc.) that when a compres- 
sion balance is on the floor below the table, if, 
say, 30 lb. is the normal vertical reaction for 
steady levitation, this reaction is not applied sud- 
denly, but, in other words, grows steadily for 
about five to six seconds, and that the table 
seems to spring into the air when the growth 

1% 



178 REAJLITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

of psychic force is complete. According to the 
cantilever theory this growth of the reaction is 
synonymous with the making of the cantilever 
rigid enough to withstand the weight of the levi- 
tated table. Suppose, now, that the growth of 
this psychic force is stopped at a value which 
does not make the cantilever sufficiently rigid to 
lift the table, but which nevertheless makes it 
sufficiently strong to exert a considerable up- 
ward force on the table — but less than its weight, 
— then we have the apparent decrease of the 
weight of the table explained. The operators 
can as a matter of fact stop the growth of the 
psychic force at any magnitude they wish, as 
abundant experimental results amply testify. 

The increasing of the weight of the table may 
be explained thus : the cantilever end grips the 
under surface of the table by adhesion, and is 
then pressed downwards towards the floor. 

A point I have already remarked on several 
times IS the fact that when the psychic pressure 
becomes sufficiently great, the table seems actu- 
ally to spring into the air. It does not rise 
gradually, as might have been supposed. The 
experimenter almost feels, when he watches it, 
that some restraining force had been suddenly 
removed which was keeping it from levitating. 
Perhaps the following idea, which seems to me 
at least feasible, may partly explain it : — 

During the preparation for levitation the line 
of communication (whatever it may consist of) 
is loose and soft ; a flexible connection A is made 



A CANTILEVER THEORY 179 



M 




Fig. 36, 




"Fig. 37. 



180 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

with the under surface of the table (fig. 36). 
Psychic force is extended along the line and a 
stiff cantilever is gradually formed. At a certain 
instant, depending upon the rigidity attained by 
the end A, the end A suddenly opens out (fig. 
37) and becomes straight and vertical. As it is 
attached to the table, the latter of course rises 
with it and appears to levitate with a jerk or 
spring. 



CHAPTER X 

RAPS 

At my experimental circles all kinds and 
degrees of rapping occurred, varying in sound 
from the slightest audible ticks to blows such 
as might have been produced (judging by the 
noise) by a sledge-hammer ; dances and tunes 
were rapped out on the floor or table, sounds 
as of a bouncing ball were heard in the room, 
the leg of the table was apparently sawn, the 
floor was rubbed as though with sand-paper, 
a man was heard walking and a horse trotting 
over the floor, and so on (see Chapter I.). 

1 intend now to describe the experimental 
work I have carried out in connection with this 
matter, and to evolve a theory to account 
for it. 

Experiment 71 : The medium sitting quietly on 
the weighing-machine, to observe how 
her weight was affected when rapping 
was occurring. 

The small, accurate weighing - machine 
described in Chapter III., lent by Messrs 

181 



182 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

W. & T. Avery, Ltd., was used. The draw- 
ing-board (see Chapter III.) was tied to the plat- 
form and a piece of dark carpet was tacked 
to it, as there was reason to beheve that white 
light rays from its surface were interfering with 
the intensity of the phenomena. The circle 
sat throughout the experiments with hands on 
knees, so that each member was physically 
isolated from the rest. The medium's hands 
were flat on her knees, and at my request she 
sat perfectly still. 

Initial weight of medium 
-f chair + drawing- 
board . . . . = 9 St. 4 lb. oz. 

Having balanced accurately, I asked the 
operators to rap on the floor, as I wished to 
discover if a rap synchronised with increase 
or decrease of weight as registered on the 
weighing-machine. One or two raps were 
given, but of an intensity only just audible. 
Thereafter there were raps at intervals of a few 
seconds. As they became gradually louder I 
noticed a peculiar effect. Sometimes coincid- 
ing with each rap or blow on the floor the 
steelyard would rise against the top stop, and 
would sometimes fall against the bottom stop. 
1 did not understand what was going on until 
I noticed that the weight of the medium as 
balanced between the raps was diminishing. 
With the increasing loudness of raps the 
weight of the medium continued to decrease. 



RAPS 183 

this process going on until the loudest sledge- 
hammer blows were being given, when the 
weight became stationary and did not decrease 
further, and thereafter, until the end of the 
experiment, remained steady. The time occu- 
pied in the process was about a minute. 

Final weight of medium 
+ chair + drawing- 
board . . . . = 8 St. 10 lb. oz. 

Therefore final steady de- 
crease in weight . . = 8 lb. 

When conditions became steady I informed 
the operators that I was going to watch the 
process again. T accordingly turned on white 
light rays into the circle, which process always 
effectively prevents phenomena. Then I 
weighed medium, chair and drawing-board 
again. The new weight was 9 st. 4 lb. I 
then asked the operators to " set conditions " 
and to rap at intervals. Again the weight 
began gradually to decrease and the loudness 
of the raps to increase, the loudness, so far as 
could be judged, being directly proportional 
to decrease of weight. When sledge-hammer 
intensity was reached, the weight became steady 
again at 8 st. 10 lb. It seems therefore neces- 
sary to conclude that (1) raps, blows, etc., 
cannot be produced unless the medium's weight 
is reduced ; (2) the intensity of the rap depends 
upon the decrease of weight and is apparently 
directly proportional to it ; (3) the loss of weight 



184 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

is merely temporary, as on each occasion of re- 
weighing after tlie experiment the initial dead 
weight of 9 st. 4 lb. was obtained ; (4) the loss of 
weight is not effected suddenly, but on the 
contrary quite gradually ; (5) after a time the loss 
of weight reaches a final amount and thereafter 
does not vary. 

It seems to me that the loss represents actual 
matter temporarily detached from the medium 
and used in some manner in the production of 
raps, blows, etc. 

Expeiiment 72 : The effect of raps, blows, etc., 
given on the floor, upon the weight of the 
medium. 

Initial weight of medium 

+ chair + board . . = 9 st. 4 lb. oz. 

When the reduction in weight, as mentioned 
in Experiment 71, had reached a maximum, and 
the steelyard balanced at 8 st. 10 lb., I asked 
the operators to produce raps of various inten- 
sities on the floor. The results were as follows : 
Raps of all degrees of loudness cause corre- 
sponding and synchronous increase of weight of 
medium, indicated by steelyard pressing for a 
second against the top stop, the pressure roughly 
proportional to loudness of rap, varying from the 
slightest upward movement of steelyard to a 
force (as judged by the sense of touch) of many 
pounds. Impacts on the floor, such as the 
bouncing-ball imitation, sand-paper noise on floor, 
and so on (Chapter I.), all cause synchronous and 



RAPS 185 

temporary additional weight, the lever again 
balancing after each blow. 

How are we to reconcile the results of Experi- 
ment 71 and the experiments dealing with levita- 
tion, where in the one case the medium loses weight 
and in the other gains it ? The only reasonable 
conclusion is that the process during levitation is 
different from that during the production of raps 
and impacts generally. During the process of 
levitation I have never observed any initial or 
other decrease in the weight of the medium, but, 
on the contrary, always an increase> Again, in 
Experiment 71 the operators knew that raps and 
blows only were expected, and no levitation was 
attempted ; hence it is to be presumed that the 
reduction in weight then noted was that neces- 
sary for the work in hand alone. Also I would 
add that during levitation raps are very seldom 
given, and then only of the feeblest type. 

Experiment 73 : What happened to the medium's 
weight at the commencement of a seance, 
and the effect of rapping, etc. 

In this experiment (which was carried out at 
a later date than Experiments 71 and 72) I am 
going to describe what occurred near the com- 
mencement of a seance in which for some reason 
or other — perhaps partly owing to the extremely 
wet weather — phenomena were slower than usual 
in getting under way. Probably the processes 
noted in this case occur during all seances, but 
on ordinary occasions they are soon finished and 



186 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

psychical equilibrium is quickly established. On 
the present occasion, after the circle had held 
hands in the chain formation for some little time 
and a few levitations had been obtained, I seated 
the medium on the chair on the weighing- 
machine. I then altered the chain order and 
asked each member of the circle to place hands 
on knees. Owing to the somewhat unfavourable 
conditions prevailing, this seemed to break up 
what psychic balance had existed, with the con- 
sequence that, to all intents and purposes, the 
seance had to commence over again. The 
initial weight of medium -I- chair + drawing- 
board was 9 st. 10 lb. 12 oz. I carefully watched 
the balan ce of the weighing-machine. During the 
first five minutes or so there was no decrease or 
increase of weight registered, and no replies by raps 
in answer to repeated requests. Then the weight 
began very slowly to diminish, and light raps 
began to be heard. I wish to emphasise the fact 
that until this first slight diminution in weight 
occurred, absolutely no raps were given. Soon 
after the process had commenced the weight 
began to decrease in successive fluxes of from 
2 lb. to 5 lb. or slightly more, and at the 
termination of each decrease to come back some- 
what. It would seem that as soon as a little 
weight is removed the drawing action upon the 
medium becomes easier ; in other words, that the 
establishing of even a weak psychic field facilitates 
greatly the preliminary operations. The process 
once started, I asked the operators to rap at 



RAPS 



187 



intervals. The fluxes of decreasing weight con- 
tinued, becoming gradually greater and greater. 
I noticed that when a loud blow was given on 
the floor the weight would greatly diminish — as 
much as 20 lb. or even more — and would then 
usually come back, or nearly come back, to what 



9st. lOlb. 12oz 




About 6st. 



it was before the blow was struck. The weight 
did not flow back instantly after the blow, but if 
it did come back it did so slowly, taking perhaps 
six or seven seconds. Now and then it did not 
come back for about half a minute, and on those 
occasions it did not return so far as the original 
amount registered before the blow. The weight, 
generally speaking, decreased in waves, irregularly 
(see fig. 38). 



188 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

The final fairly steady value — which lasted for 
a few minutes — was about 6 st., although there 
were fluxes somewhat below this. 

It seems to me that in this experiment we 
witness two processes in combination : — 

(1) The process of getting the medium into 
condition — the loosening of the psychic stuff by 
strong fluxes of upward force upon her body ; and 
(2) the removal of sufficient material from her 
body for the production of raps. 

When the processes outlined above had been 
going on for about a quarter of an hour, and the 
total weight had been fairly steady at about 6 st. 
for a minute or so, the medium began to regain 
her lost weight. I watched the process with 
great interest, because it was quite unexpected so 
far as I was concerned. The regaining process 
was very slow, occupying I should say about 
two minutes, and it was quite regular, in sharp 
contradistinction to the decreasing process. I 
quite easily kept the lever balanced by the rider 
as the weight grew, and I followed it up until 
exactly the original value of 9 st. 10 lb. 12 oz. 
was reached. 

I expect that in ordinary seances, with con- 
ditions normal, the initial drawing process is 
finished very quickly. The final action, that in 
which the medium gradually regained her weight, 
was probably the conclusion of the preliminary 
operations, for phenomena soon started, and pro- 
ceeded with much their usual vigour. The results 
of this experiment seem to me to give us some 



RAPS 189 

positive notions as to the meaning of the fluxes 
of nervous and muscular stress so many people 
experience at the opening of a seance. 

There is just the possibility that the operators 
were acting directly upon the lever of the weigh- 
ing-machine. The chances against this are, how- 
ever, very great. The operators knew that to do 
so would be to render the results valueless ; they 
were as keen on the experiments as myself, and 
if at any time they were unable to carry out any 
test they always told me. Moreover, during 
much of the time I had fairly strong light 
upon the lever of the machine. Then the corre- 
spondence between the loudness of the raps 
and the decrease of weight, the synchronism 
between the raps and the fluxes of decreased 
weight, and so on, all show quite plainly that 
the forces registered were due to actions upon 
the medium alone. 

It is fairly evident that the main processes in- 
cluded in levitation of the table and in rapping 
are somewhat diflerent ; indeed, an actual tem- 
porary loss of the medium's weight seems essential 
for rapping (Experiments 71 and 73), and further- 
more the intensity of the rap seems directly pro- 
portional to the amount of the loss of weight. I 
have on several occasions noted the distinction 
between the two processes, and at one seance in 
my own house I made some particular observa- 
tions on it 



190 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

Experiment 74 : Distinction between the levita- 
tion and rapping processes. 

Levitation phenomena had been in progress 
for some time. Just after a levitation was over 
I asked a question of the operators. There was 
no answer for half a minute or so. Then a reply 
was given by gentle raps. In a few seconds the 
raps increased in intensity, and before long were 
sharp and distinct — that is to say, the change from 
the processes involved in levitation to those made 
use of in rapping required time. I watched this 
change on several occasions on this particular 
evening, and I had observed it often before. 1 
am now quite certain that it takes appreciable 
and measurable time to effect. As further corro- 
boration, I have noted that sometimes, instead of 
going to the trouble of " changing over," the 
operators would prefer to answer questions by 
tilting the end of the table, which is a much more 
cumbersome method of holding a conversation 
than the method of raps. 

Experiment 75 : " Bombardment " of the medium 
during rapping. 

This experiment was conducted in my own 
house. The medium was sitting at the head of 
the circle, and I placed myself almost directly 
opposite her. The light was good, and I could 
observe her thoroughly. The operators were 
producing heavy thuds on the floor in front of 
her at intervals of a few seconds. At each 



RAPS 191 

thud the medium was pushed backwards on her 
chair — even violently pushed backwards, for the 
movement was quite obvious. She seemed to be 
struck in the region of the chest, and the motion 
given to her was very similar to that given to 
any large body which, being free to move, is 
struck by a small one travelling with considerable 
velocity. In other words, a back force seemed to 
react on her for each rap. I watched the process 
for quite a long time, and the result was never 
in doubt. When the raps became lighter and 
quicker, she still received pushes which caused 
lier to swing backwards — motions which were 
quite visible, evidently one for each rap ; and at 
one time she was under a veritable bombardment 
from the reactions. When the raps were pro- 
duced in her immediate neighbourhood, instead 
of out in the circle, I noticed that she seemed to 
be hit in more nearly a vertical direction than 
was the case for the latter position — that is, the 
reaction for the rap seems to be transmitted from 
the floor in a straight line to somewhere near the 
chest of the medium. If the rap is produced far 
out in the circle, this straight line is not so much 
inclined to the Hoor as when it is produced near 
the medium ; all of which is very natural and in 
agreement with the laws of mechanics if we 
suppose something in the nature of a semi-rigid 
body or rod projects itself from the medium to 
the point on the Hoor where the rapping is to 
occur. 

In addition to observing the bombardment of 



192 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

the medium, I went over to her while it was in 
progress and felt the various motions of her body. 
She experiences no inconvenience from the rap 
reactions, and nothing of the stress she undergoes 
when a table levitates. 

Experiment 76 : To endeavour to discover the 
" shape " of a rap. 

In order to test the result of a rap on paper, I 
procured a couple of brass rings about six inches 
in diameter, placed a piece of brown paper be- 
tween them, and fixed the rings together by a 
couple of bolts through projecting lugs. The 
paper was then taut, somewhat like the end of 
drum. The rap was duly delivered upon the 
paper, which on examination was found to be in- 
dented heavily, and slightly torn downwards in a 
curved line about an inch long, as though it had 
received a slanting blow from something of an 
oval shape about two square inches in area and 
moving comparatively slowly. 



CHAPTER XI 

THE HOD THEORY FOR RAPS 

The theory to account for the phenomenon of 
raps which I am now going to discuss is as 
follows : — 

From various parts of the body of the medium 
psychic semi-flexible rods are projected, the end 
portions of which, being struck sharply on the 
floor, table, chair, or other body, cause the sharp 
sounds known generally as raps. 

These rods have apparently all the character- 
istics of solid bodies ; they are more or less 
flexible, and can be varied in length and diameter. 
Several of the smaller rods, or one of the largest 
size, may project from the medium at any one 
time. Each one, especially near its extremity, 
is more or less rigid, and the rigidity can be 
varied within limits depending upon conditions 
of light, the psychic energy available, and so 
forth. The rigidity is probably ultimately 
brought about by some kind of molecular action 
concerning which we are as yet perfectly ignor- 
ant — the kind of action that produces the same 
effect on the cantilever. 

193 13 



194 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

I have heard of various "explosion" theories 
for raps. I disagree completely with all such. 
If what occurs at my circle is typical — and I 
expect it is — there is not the vestige of any 
evidence for explosions, but, on the other hand, 
an overwhelming testimony for direct impacts 
by a body resembling a solid one. Let me go 
over some of this evidence in detail. 

(1) The raps (by which term I include little 
light raps, knocks, sledge-hammer blows, and 
all intermediate varieties) cause vibration of 
the floor or other body upon which they are 
produced. The heavier blows cause such pro- 
nounced vibration that the boards of the floor 
sensibly shake. All visitors to the seance room 
notice this. 

(2) The Psychic Touch. — Touches are some- 
times experienced at the circle. I have carefully ' 
analysed their impression on the sense of feeling. 
A psychic touch feels exactly as though the 
rounded end of a material rod was pushed on 
one's arm, or foot, or other part of the body. 
The "solidity" of the touching body is what 
impresses the experimenter ; for no matter how 
carefully or softly the operators apply the touch, 
one feels as though the blunted end of a hard 
something — a something even made of metal — 
were being used. On my theory this touching 
apparatus is, in fact, the end of a " rapping " rod 
projecting from the medium, the end of a rod 
which in some unknown manner is made half 
rigid. When the experimenter has felt this 



THE ROD THEORY FOR RAPS 195 

unexpectedly solid touch he begins to understand 
a little about the process of the rap in general. 

(3) The rigidity of the rapping rod varies with 
the amount of light to which it is subjected. 
This statement may appear curious. Perhaps 
I had better illustrate by an example. Some- 
times we have formed an impromptu circle in 
the dining-room or other room where a fire was 
burning and w^here light was coming in through 
the blinds from street lamps outside. On such 
occasions the operators either rap on the medium's 
chair or on the floor between her chair and 
that of Mr Morrison — that is to say, in either 
case in close proximity to the medium. When 
at such times the light is too strong or is badly 
regulated (as usually happens), the raps resemble 
soft, dull thuds, and cannot seemingly be made 
sharp and distinct. I cannot overcome the con- 
viction that the rapping rod in such cases is 
not so rigid as usual; that in fact it becomes 
soft, or even, as it were, partially melted on 
its periphery, where it is exposed to the light, 
and that its core is the only part of it remaining 
solid. Hence the dull, softish sound of its free 
end when it strikes the floor. 

(4) The rapping rods issue from various parts 
of the body of the medium. When the amount 
of psychic energy is low, or w^hen the quantity 
available is small, such as near the commence- 
ment of a seance, the rods are naturally of the 
shortest length possible consistent with the pro- 
duction of the phenomenon. Accordingly, at 



196 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

the beginning of operations in the seance room 
the raps are first heard quite close to the 
medium's feet, for the rods in that case issue, 
as I have reason to beheve, from her ankles or 
from some part in close proximity. My reason 
for thus locating the starting-place of such 
rods is due to the mechanical reactions of the 
raps (Experiments 72, 73). These particular 
mechanical reactions cause her to make slight 
involuntary motions with her feet, motions which 
a careless observer would set down to imposture. 
After a little time, when further stores of 
psychic energy become available, the raps are 
produced further out in the circle — on the chairs 
of the sitters, or on the under surface of the 
table within the circle. The starting-point of 
the rod then seems to be much higher up her 
body, for the reactionary movements are then 
visible on the trunk. 

(5) Raps vary in intensity from the slightest 
audible sounds to blows such as could be struck 
— judging by the sound — by a sledge-hammer. 
(Of course, the intensity of the latter blows is 
not that which would be obtained from an actual 
sledge-hammer, or the floor boards would be split. 
I expect the end of the rod in such cases " gives," 
i.e. is slightly elastic, with the result that only 
violent vibration of the floor occurs, and that there 
is in reality more noise than actual force.) 

The beating of a carpet by a flexible cane seems 
to be somewhat analogous to the actual process. 

I have noted often that the heaviest blows 



THE ROD THEORY FOR RAPS 197 

are not usually delivered quickly. Two such 
blows are seldom struck in series — that is, one 
following the other immediately, in the manner 
of what is called the double knock. There is 
an interval of a second or two between them, 
and while the blows are in progress no other 
phenomena can be produced. On my theory, 
what is here happening is that one large rod 
is projecting from the medium, a rod of such 
large dimensions that all the psychic energy 
available is used in its construction. In other 
words, it is a sledge-hammer and not a tack- 
hammer. When the raps required are light, 
two or more thin rods may be projecting from 
the medium simultaneously. Take the case of 
a jig or other complicated tune being rapped 
out on floor or table. The raps follow each other 
so quickly that it is reasonable to suppose that 
the operator has at his command a series of 
projecting rods, and uses these as we would 
use the keys of a piano. Some of the rods used 
must be very thin. At a rough guess 1 should 
say they vary from a diameter of about ^ in. 
to one of 2 in. or 3 in. 

(6) I have carefully watched the phenomenon 
of raps while the medium has been seated on the 
weighing-machine. If the reader will refer to 
Experiments 71, 72, and 73, he will find some 
relative data. The conclusions from those ex- 
periments were as follows : — 

{a) Raps, blows, etc., cannot be produced un- 
less the medium's weight is reduced. 



198 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

(b) The intensity of the rap depends upon the 
medium's decrease of weight, and is apparently 
directly proportional to it. 

In Experiment 73 I state : "I wish to em- 
phasise the fact that until this first slight diminu- 
tion in weight occurred, absolutely no raps were 
given." Also, " I noticed that when a loud blow 
was given on the floor the weight would greatly 
diminish — as much as 20 lb. or more — and would 
then usually come back, or nearly come back, to 
what it was before the blow was struck." Hence 
it will be seen that in this experiment a state of 
equilibrium had evidently not been arrived at, as 
was seemingly the case in Experiment 71, where 
a maximum steady diminution of weight of about 
8 lb. was maintained during the loudest blows, and 
where there did not appear to be fluxes of weight 
diminution accompanying the blows. 

Let us see how the matter works out on the 
rod theory. 

The Dimimdion of Weight. — The rigidity of the 
psychic rod is due in some way to material par- 
ticles temporarily projected from the medium. 
So soon as a rod is formed, its free end rests on the 
floor, i.e. part of the body of the medium is sup- 
ported on the floor beyond the weighing-machine 
on which she is seated ; she thus apparently loses 
weight. The thicker the rod the more of the 
matter of her body is thus externally supported, 
and, as the thickness of the rod used determines 
the intensity of the rap, her apparent loss of weight 
is thus proportional to the intensity of the blow. 



THE HOD THEORY FOR RAPS 199 

In Experiment 71, with perfect psychic equi- 
librium, it was found that, during the period of 
experimenting for the loudest blows, the medium's 
weight remained practically steady at a diminu- 
tion of 8 lb. With the steelyard of the weighing- 
machine balanced at this diminution, it was found 
that raps caused corresponding and synchronous 
increase of weight of the medium, indicated by 
steelyard pressing for a second against the top 
stop, the pressure being roughly proportional to 
loudness of rap, varying from slightest upward 
movement of steelyard to a force — as judged by 
the sense of touch — of many pounds. In my 
opinion this temporary increase of weight was 
caused (1) by one or more of the rods being lifted 
from the floor, and (2) by the mechanical reaction 
on the medium when the rod was impacted on 
the floor to cause the rap. 

This reaction is a very real matter, and affords 
further evidence that something mechanical, most 
likely in the nature of a more or less flexible rod, 
is in reality used. 

(7) Besides the usual raps, blows, etc., there 
are various peculiar modifications. For instance, 
there is the imitation of the bouncing ball, which 
is so lifelike that the listener would be prepared 
to declare that a material ball is really present. 
How is this imitation accounted for on the rod 
theory ? Probably there is some modification of 
the terminal of the rod. It is made softer than 
usual, and its shape is perhaps altered somewhat 
also. 



200 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

The imitation of sand-paper rubbing the floor 
is not hard to understand. The end of a rod 
is rubbed along the floor instead of impacting 
on it. 

The imitation of the table leg being sawn is 
more difficult. Perhaps this is caused by the rod 
being moved lengthwise across the leg of the 
table, i.e. the end of the rod is not used, but the 
axial surface of it. 

(8) The movements of small objects "without 
contact " is generally understandable on the rod 
theory. When the little hand-bell is lifted, as 
often happens, a couple of rods may be supposed 
to seize it on either side like a pair of tongs, or 
a single rod may grip it by adhesion. That such 
rods have more or less the characteristics of solid 
bodies may be seen in an experiment with the 
bell. Sometimes when the bell is lifted it does 
not ring clearly, but has the dulled sound one 
would obtain if it were gripped by the metal 
instead of by the handle. The rod, or rods, are 
in that case pressing against the metal, and, as 
they have the properties of solid bodies, they 
damp the sound vibrations. But the bell can 
evidently be also seized by the handle, when it 
rings clearly in the ordinary manner. Some- 
times the operators ring the bell and rap on the 
floor simultaneously. 

I will now describe a couple of curious experi- 
ments in connection with raps, which illustrate 
some of the points discussed above. 



THE ROD THEORY FOR RAPS 201 

Eocperiment 77 : The typewriter experiment. 

I wished to see what the operators could do 
with a typewriter placed within the circle ; 
whether the keys could be struck with the 
precision necessary to imprint letters upon the 
paper ; whether the mass of metal of which 
the machine was composed would have a 
deleterious effect ; whether a rational message 
could be typed out ; and so on. Accordingly, 
a Barlock typewriter having been kindly placed 
at my disposal by Mr T. Edens Osborne, I 
fixed a sheet of paper in it in the ordinary way, 
and placed it on the floor near the centre of the 
circle. No sooner had I done so and turned on 
the red light, than the keys were struck lightly 
and rapidly as though a pair of hands were 
playing over them. This having continued for 
some little time, I examined the mechanism, but 
I found that the type levers had become jammed, 
evidently from several keys having been struck 
simultaneously, and these had to be disengaged 
before the experiment could be proceeded with. 
(The typewriter was rather an old-fashioned one 
and somewhat complex.) It was apparent that 
the operators did not know how to use the 
machine. I therefore explained to them that 
they must strike each key separately with 
a sharp blow and allow time for it to come 
back to its normal position before striking 
another. They followed this advice carefully 
on the next occasion — with an exactness that 



202 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

was even surprising — and succeeded in typing 
the following: — 

mbx : gcsq' 

There is nothing in the nature of a message in 
the foregoing, and the experiment is chiefly in- 
teresting as showing that the keys can be struck 
with just the force necessary to produce such a 
result. The mass of metal composing the type- 
writer seems to have no injurious effects on the 
transmission and application of the force. I will 
add that the letters on the keys were in some 
cases much worn ; perhaps the operators found 
some difficulty in reading them. 

Expe7iment 78: I smoothed out a lump of rather 
soft putty into a saucer and placed the saucer on 
the floor near the middle of the circle. I asked 
the operators to " rap " on the putty. Three im- 
pressions were made on it. They were similar 
in form, each consisting of an oblong cavity 
about f in. long and ^ in. wide at its widest 
part, sloping down gradually from the periphery 
to a maximum depth of \ in. or so. The near 
edges of the two outside impressions impinged 
upon the middle one. The floor of each cavity 
was not smooth, but was lined by two series of 
grooves or waves (although I call them " waves," 
I do so for convenience of description only ; the 
reader should understand that I have no inten- 
tion of asserting that the pulse is transmitted in 
wave form) : {a) long, comparatively deep waves, 
and {b) waves crossing the crests of the former 



THE ROD THEORY FOR RAPS 



203 



at right angles. The long waves were all 
practically parallel to one another and straight 
for the greater portion of their length, though 
they showed a tendency to curl round near the 
long ends of the cavity. 

Fig. 39 represents diagrammatically three of 
the long waves A, B, C, near the middle of 
the cavity. The dark lines repre- 
sent the crests, and the white 
spaces the troughs of the waves, 
which are nearly equally spaced. 
Three cross waves are shown by 
the lines 1, 2, 3. Careful measure- 
ment shows that there are about 
thirteen of the long waves per 
inch of width, and about thirty- 
two cross waves per inch. The 
latter cut through the crests of 
the long waves at right angles, 
and reach a depth of about one- 
third the height of the long wave 
as measured from trough to crest. 
The measurements were difficult 
owing to the curvature of the holes, but are 
correct approximately. 

These waves were evidently not made by a 
sliding motion parallel to their length, but seem 
to have been impressed by a force acting approxi- 
mately perpendicularly to the putty, for the putty 
is not heaped up or abraded anywhere, as would 
result if the former were the case. 

On thinking the matter over, I remembered 



ABC 



Fig. 39. 






204 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

that the markings were very similar to those on 
the human finger and thumb. Accordingly I 
examined my own fingers and thumb through a 
magnifying glass. A magnification of three or 
four diameters indicated a great degree of 
correspondence. Assuming that the markings 
were impressions of part of a finger or thumb, it 
has to be remembered that crests on the finger 
correspond to troughs in the cavity and vice 
versa ; but even so, there are indications that 
the cross notches or waves in the cavity are 
produced by similar notches faintly showing at 
the base of the troughs of the long waves on the 
finger. If, then, as seems most likely to me, 
these "raps" on the putty are really produced 
by invisible fingers, the following deductions 
would seem to be implied : — 

(a) The impressing fingers are not of a normal 
size, but are at least three times as large as 
normal ones. This is evident from a comparison 
of the pitch and depth of the grooves. 

(b) The impressed grooves are so cleanly and 
regularly cut that we must suppose the im- 
pressing fingers are " new " ones — i.e. they are 
in this respect unlike the marks on the human 
finger, which are more or less worn, as is evident 
from examination through the magnifying glass. 

(c) The impressions are only a small part of 
the finger or thumb. 

(d) The impressions may be due to something 
resembling the large toe on the human foot ; but 
if so, the deductions (a), (6), and (c) still hold. 



THE ROD THEORY FOR RAPS 205 

Now, what are we to make of this ? Does it 
invahdate the rod theory ? Not so far as I can 
see. The only point of difference would seem to 
be that the end of the rapping rod in this case was 
specially prepared with something resembling a 
finger-print, just as for the bouncing-ball test and 
the saw test it would also have to be specially 
modified. I should have thought that the end 
of the rod for simple rapping would have been 
plain and unencumbered with design, following 
out the principle of least work. Accordingly, I 
interrogated the operators on the matter. They 
said decisively and repeatedly that the impres- 
sions on the putty were finger-prints, but that in 
ordinary rapping finger-prints were 7iot used ; 
that, in fact, a simple blunt projection was em- 
ployed. They produced the finger prints on this 
occasion to show what they could do and because 
the putty, being soft, was able to reproduce them. 

While on this subject it may interest my 
readers to hear that when 1 had worked out the 
cantilever theory for levitation, I put it to the 
operators bit by bit in as plain and untechnical 
language as possible. They say the whole thing 
is practically accurate. They say they under- 
stand what I mean when 1 describe the arched 
rod issuing from the medium, going below the 
table, and a column rising from its end, and so 
forth. They also say the rod theory for raps is 
substantially accurate. Of course, I do not ask 
anybody to place any scientific value upon this, 
but only mention it as a matter of interest. 



206 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

Once I asked how the cantilever arms, rapping 
rods, etc., are made rigid. They said they did not 
know. I asked them if there were any entities 
who did know. They answered in the affirma- 
tive. Asked if they could bring these entities to 
the circle to impart the information to me, they 
said they were doubtful if they could do so. Up 
to now I have heard no more of the matter. 
I now describe some experiments with the 



Fio. 40. 

electroscope on psychic " touching," which in my 
opinion is only a variation of rapping. 

The electroscope used was of a simple type 
sufficiently illustrated by fig. 40. 

A is a thin brass disc, B the brass stem, and 
C C the gold leaves. The whole is enclosed from 
a little way below the disc in a protecting 
box with glass front and back and metal sides. 
Proper insulation, of course, is provided. For 
the experiments described below I charged the 
electroscope on each occasion at a small table in 



THE ROD THEORY FOR RAPS 207 

the corner of the room, and then took it to what- 
ever part of the circle I desired. 1 found that 
throughout the tests I could never charge the 
instrument fully, i.e. so that the gold leaves 
would widely diverge ; but that nevertheless I 
could charge it so that the leaves would open 
about two-thirds their full amount and remain 
for an indefinite time at that distance apart. 

Expei^iment 79 : Electroscope placed under table 
where psychic energy was supposed to be 
concentrated. 

I charged the electroscope, and then asked the 
operators to take their attention from the table 
(they had been levitating it) and to remove as 
much weight as they could from the body of the 
medium, and to indicate to me that they had 
accomplished this by giving a sledge-hammer 
blow on the floor. The matter removed (used in 
the production of raps) I asked should be con- 
centrated under the table standing on the floor. 
In about one minute a terriflc blow was given 
upon the floor as a sign to me that the operation 
was complete. I then placed the charged electro- 
scope under the table and kept it there for half a 
minute or so. 

Result. — The electroscope was unaffected. 

Experiment 80 : Psychic touching of disc of the 
electroscope. 

I took the electroscope to the table in the 
corner, discharged and recharged it. I then 



208 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

placed it within the circle near the centre. I 
asked the operators to " touch " the disc of the 
instrument very gently. They did this almost 
at once, the " touching " consisting of a metallic 
scraping upon the brass disc, quite audible, 
similar in type to the imitation of the floor being 
rubbed with sand-paper, a phenomenon I have 
often observed. 

Result. — On examination the electroscope was 
found to be completely discharged. 

Experiment 81 : Further test on " touching " of 
electroscope. 

I took the electroscope to the table in the 
corner of the room and tried to recharge it, but 
I found I was unable to do so even after repeated 
trials. Accordingly I asked the operators to put 
back into the body of the medium the matter 
they had taken out at my request in Experiment 
79 (for the production of sledge-hammer blows), 
and to give a few raps when they had done so. 
In a minute or so some very light raps were 
given, and when I asked if the process was 
complete I received no raps in reply at all, 
which seemed to indicate to me that all the 
matter used for rapping had been returned to 
the medium. At any rate, I found that I 
could now charge the electroscope ; which done, 
I placed it on the floor as before within the 
circle, and asked that the disc should be 
" touched " lightly. After a little time there 
was the metallic scraping as before, and on 



THE ROD THEORY FOR RAPS 209 

examination the electroscope was found to be 
completely discharged. 

Experiment 82 : Further experiment on " touch- 
ing " of electroscope. 

I repeated Experiment 80 most carefully. I 
found the same difficulty in recharging the 
electroscope, and the same process had to be 
gone over again before it could be recharged. 
When " touched " it was discharged as before. 

As a working hypothesis to account for some 
of the results of Experiments 79-82, it occurs to 
me that the psychic "touching" of the disc of 
the electroscope is equivalent to putting the 
body of the medium in contact with the instru- 
ment by means of matter abstracted from her 
for the production of raps and similar effects. 
No doubt the scraping action referred to belongs 
to the rapping category of phenomena ; probably 
the rapping rod is drawn over the surface of the 
disc instead of impacting it. 



14 



CHAPTER XII 

MISCELLANEOUS EXPERIMENTS 

Experinient 83 : Electric shock test. 

I placed a small induction coil on the floor 
within the circle, connected it to a dry cell, and 
gave the medium one of the terminals to hold in 
her right hand (the members of the circle were 
sitting with hands on knees). The other terminal 
(each of the terminals consisted of a small tube 
of metal about two inches long) I placed on the 
floor. I asked the operators to apply psychic 
force to the terminal on the floor, to "touch" it, 
and to move it about. They appeared to do all 
these things. 

Result. — The medium said that on one occa- 
sion she felt what she afterwards recognised as a 
weak electric shock in her right arm, and that 
her wrist gave a jerk. She was most positive 
that she felt the shock, though it is evident there 
is much room for self-suggestion in the experi- 
ment. It is true I took care not to let her 
see the apparatus before the experiment, but, of 
course, the test is inconclusive, and I only give 
it as a matter of interest. 

210 



MISCELLANEOUS EXPERIMENTS 211 

Eocperivient 84 : Phosphorescence. 

I brought to the seance room a small piece 
of cardboard which had been covered on one 
surface with powered calcium sulphide, a sub- 
stance which has the property of phosphorescing 
for several hours after it has been exposed to 
sunlight. Previous to the experiment I had 
kept the cardboard in an envelope in my pocket 
for twenty-four hours. The gaslight having 
been turned off in the seance room, we were left 
in total darkness. I placed the cardboard on 
the floor within the circle, prepared surface 
uppermost, and asked the operators to apply 
psychic force to it, to " touch " it, and to " rap " 
on it. This they apparently did, judging by the 
sounds. I then held it in my fingers and asked 
that it should be pushed. This was done, and I 
felt the pushes. 

Result. — Absolutely no sign of phosphor- 
escence. 

Experiment 85 : Fluorescence. 

I also brought an X-ray fluorescent screen 
(platino-cyanide of barium) to the seance room, 
and asked the operators to treat it as they had 
done the prepared cardboard of Experiment 84. 
They apparently did so. 

Result. — No sign of fluorescence. 

The room being pitch dark at this time — 
the only occasion in all my experiments, — the 
operators, at the conclusion of the tests, desired 



212 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

to show us what they could do under such 
conditions. The result was that a small earth- 
quake seemed to be playing about the room. I 
need not go into details, but will only say that 
the table could not be held by any muscular 
force exerted ; it turned upside down and levitated 
in that fashion (see Experiment 23), and it per- 
formed every possible kind of contortion. The 
blows on the floor were terrific, and such, in fact, 
was the din that I was glad to light the gas. 

Eivperiment 86 : Delicacy of force actions upon 
the medium. 

In Experiment 73 will be found an account of 
what occurred to the weight of the medium near 
the commencement of a seance in which pheno- 
mena were slow in starting — a rare occurrence 
with the circle. Some time after the processes 
outlined in that experiment had terminated and 
the medium had regained her weight, I carried 
out an experiment the results of which are to my 
mind significant and interesting. 

The medium being seated on the weighing- 
machine, her weight + chair -f- drawing-board 
balanced at 9 st. 10 lb. 12 oz. I said to the opera- 
tors, " Please take 2 lb. or thereabouts off" the 
weight of the medium, keep her balanced at 
that, and rap as loudly as you can." In a very 
short time after my request her weight was re- 
duced, as evidenced by the steelyard falling 
against the bottom stop, but I found when I 
moved the rider back that more than the 2 lb. 



MISCELLANEOUS EXPERIMENTS 213 

desired had been removed. I therefore told the 
operators to add a little to her weight, which 
they immediately did, but they slightly over- 
stepped the mark, and I had to ask for a trifle to 
be taken off again. This slight adding and sub- 
tracting of weight was done at my request three 
or four times until the machine just about 
balanced at the required reduction. It was in- 
teresting to see how steadily the operators could 
hold the reduced weight when once told they had 
obtained it. Then they rapped. With 2 lb. off 
(or within a trifle of 2 lb.) the raps were quite 
soft ; and on inquiry if that was the loudest they 
could do, they answered in the affirmative. Then 
I asked for more weight to be taken off the 
medium, about 4 lb. total. Approximate balance 
was obtained as before. The operators over- 
stepped the mark, and I told them, as before, to 
add on a little weight, when they went a little 
too far in the other direction. I had to tell them 
nearly a dozen times to add or subtract a small 
amount of weight in order to get the rider 
just to balance at the 4-lb. reduction required. 
But finally they were successful. Then they 
rapped, and this time the raps were louder. I 
asked for a 7-lb. reduction in weight, when the 
whole process had to be gone over again. When 
final balance was obtained the raps were very 
loud. Then again, with 10 lb. off, the loudest 
raps, really blows in this case, were heard. The 
medium's weight could still be greatly diminished, 
but I noticed that further reduction seemed to 



214 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

add little or nothing to the intensity of the raps. 
The extraordinary part of the experiment was the 
way the operators could, at my request, take off 
or add on minute amounts of weight, as small as 
a quarter of a pound or less, in order to make 
the medium balance at the amount desired, and 
how they could hold the reduced weight steady 
once it was obtained. 

Experime?it 87 : A photograph. 

I am going to describe now a psychic photo- 
graph. It was taken by a friend of mine, under 
my supervision, on Saturday evening, 23rd Oct. 
1915, in my own house. I do not place it in the 
same category as my other experiments, because 
I personally am not an expert in photography, 
and because others had a hand in taking and 
developing it. Nevertheless, although not up 
to the standard of test photography, it is an 
absolutely genuine production. In my articles 
to Light I left the description of this psychic 
photograph till near the end of the series, 
because 1 had hoped to be able to take others 
and thus corroborate the result obtained. But 
though I and the circle have gone to great 
trouble over the matter, we have never been able 
to duplicate it. Many of my other experiments 
have been gone over again and again, some as 
often as a dozen times, and I am prepared at the 
present moment to carry out any of them with 
the certainty of success — so long, of course, as the 
operators and members of the circle are willing. 



MISCELLANEOUS EXPERIMENTS 215 

But with this photograph it is different. How- 
ever, as I have already said, it is a perfectly 
genuine production, as those concerned in it are 
willing to testify on oath if necessary ; and as it 
has excited so much interest amongst those of 
my scientific friends who have examined it, I 
do not consider myself justified in withholding 
it, more especially as it is in all likelihood the 
only one of its kind in existence. 

Although the print shows the structure to be 
described below quite clearly, I do not think it 
would reproduce well, and I will use a diagram 
for descriptive purposes. 

The circle had assembled with the object of 
obtaining flashlight photographs of the levitated 
table. During the whole of the day Miss 
Kathleen Goligher, the principal medium, had 
been suffering from a cold and a sore throat, and 
I thought of postponing the seance ; but feeling 
a little better in the evening, she desired that it 
should be held. The circle sat in its usual order, 
with the medium at the top end of the room. 
The camera was placed in position near the 
bottom end and focussed upon the table. I 
decided to wait for the photograph until the 
latter half of the seance. In the meantime we 
had a display of rapping, levitation, etc. After 
half an hour or so of this, phenomena ceased, 
and I told the operators to rap when they were 
ready for the photograph. During the period of 
waiting the operators asked us various questions 
about the height we desired the table to be 



216 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

levitated, the method of procedure with the 
flashHght, and so on. Then after a time they 
levitated the table steadily and kept it in the 
air for several minutes, giving us the impression 
that they were practising. A further lull fol- 
lowed, and after a time a request from them 
that, although the table was not levitated, we 
should try the flashlight, with the object, as it 
seemed to me, of discovering what would happen 
to their psychic system of equilibrium when the 
powerful light should suddenly burst forth. We 
decided that it would be well to expose a plate 
during the flash, although we did not expect any 
result. The circle was widened a little at the 
bottom end, Master Goligher and Miss Lily 
Goligher moving a little apart, though keeping 
their hands joined in the usual way. The 
flashlight exposure was made (the reader is to 
remember that the table was not levitated). 
Then after a little the operators told us they 
could do no more that evening owing to the 
condition of the medium. I did not think there 
was the least likelihood of anything being on the 
exposed plate, but a surprise was in store when 
it was developed, The matter is, in my opinion, 
worthy of being described in detail. 

It is obvious this kind of experiment has not 
the same degree of certainty about it as ordinary 
tests with weighing apparatus, etc. Further 
photographs may yet reveal discrepancies in 
some of my conclusions, and the reader must 
bear this in mind. Fig. 41 will enable the ex- 



MISCELLANEOUS EXPERIMENTS 217 

planation to be the more easily understood. 
The following are my analysis and interpreta- 
tion : — 

From about the centre of the left forearm 




Floor 

Fig. 41. 



(A) of Master S. Goligher, who is in trance, is 
seen issuing a vertical column of whitish trans- 
lucent material, about 4 in. in diameter. It 
comes from his arm at right angles to it, rises 
about a foot into the air, gradually bending over 
in the form of an arch (B), and proceeding to 



218 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

(K), which is just on the camera side of the 
table (standing on the floor in front of the 
medium), and about a foot above the floor. 
From (K) a column of about the same or a 
little greater diameter, and of the same whitish 
translucent colour, rises vertically into the air, 
and terminates at (D), at a height of about 5 ft. 
from the floor. Up to the point (E) the column 
is of uniform density throughout, and, though 
thin, has its boundaries well defined. The 
pattern of the wall-paper is quite easily seen 
through it. From (E) upwards the column 
becomes denser and whiter, and at the summit 
(D) it becomes opaque, so that the wall-paper 
can no longer be seen through it. 

At the top it can be seen to be bending over 
and backwards, and it descends behind the 
upward column to the point (E). The opacity 
at the summit is perhaps due to the eye looking 
through a double thickness of column, the 
ascending and descending portions, and to the 
fact that the psychic stuff has exhausted its 
velocity at the top. In its descent its boundaries 
are no longer uniform, but sinuous, and its 
density not uniform, but patchy. The descend- 
ing column is easily made out behind the 
ascending one owing to this patchy appearance 
and wavy outline. At (E) the descending 
column branches off horizontally to the left, 
and enters the top of the chest of the medium 
(F, Miss Kathleen Goligher). 

In the diagram I have drawn a dotted arch 



MISCELLANEOUS EXPERIMENTS 219 

(G) from the medium's arm to the point (K) 
at the bottom of the column. This is not visible 
owing to the position of the sitters and to the 
table intervening, but I am assuming it is there. 
The very bottom part of the column (K) is 
also not visible owing to an arm of one of the 
sitters being in the way ; but the chances are, 
from the formation of the arch entering it, that 
it terminates well above the floor. Also, from 
the point (E) of the column a very faint outline 
of about the column's diameter can be made 
out proceeding in the opposite direction to that 
of the medium, and presumably entering the 
chest of Miss Anna Goligher. 

It seems to me that we are possibly witness- 
ing in this photograph something of the mechan- 
ism of levitation. The most important matter 
that it hints at is the circulation of the psychic 
fluid. This fluid appears to be sent along the 
arch to the base of the column, and to be pro- 
jected vertically upwards to the top, where its 
kinetic energy becomes exhausted, and then 
to fall downwards behind the uprising column 
till on a level with the medium's chest, whence 
it is drawn, in a horizontal stream, into her 
body. I have for some time suspected that 
something like this was the case. If the reader 
will refer to Experiment <o^ he will find in a 
tabulation there given that after a seance of 
an hour and a half the medium at the most 
had only lost two ounces in weight. The whole 
photograph suggests that the medium is in 



220 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

reality a psychic pump, with a complete pressure 
system. Perhaps, during levitation, the vertical 
column is under the table, in which case the 
pressure range would be much greater than is 
here shown. For in the present example the 
psychic fluid seems to be losing its energy owing 
to being projected upwards against its own 
weight only, much in the way a vertical jet 
of water does. 

On Sunday, 31st October 1915, I interrogated 
the operators with reference to the photograph. 
They informed me positively and emphatically, 
by means of raps, that they had purposely set up 
the whole picture as a means of explaining to 
me the mechanism of levitation ; that the psychic 
fluid circulates as I have described ; and that my 
description of the processes involved is accurate. 
In addition, they declared that an arch proceeds 
from each person forming the circle, the one 
from the medium being by far the strongest and 
most powerful, and that from the part (E) of the 
column the return psychic stream does not only 
proceed to the medium, but that other branches 
go to each sitter, though, as in the case of the 
arches, the medium is principally involved. They 
declared that during levitation the column is 
under the table, but that the processes I have 
sketched are still in operation, though on a more 
intensive scale. 



CHAPTER XIII 

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 

I HAVE come to the general conclusion from the 
results of my experimental work, and from ob- 
servation of the circle extending over two and a 
half years, that all the phenomena produced are 
caused by flexible rod-like projections from the 
body of the medium ; that these rods are the 
prime cause of the phenomena, whether they 
consist of levitations, movements of the table 
about the floor, rappings, touchings, or other 
variations. The principal characteristics of a 
rod are as follows : — 

(1) It is capable of being pushed straight out 
from the body of the medium and being pulled 
straight into the body of the medium. It has not 
an indefinite limit of extension, but its end can 
reach, under favourable conditions, to a distance 
of about 5 feet from her body, and can there act 
on the table and move it about. Whether the 
rod gets thinner as it is pushed out from her 
body I am not able to say, although I should 
think it likely. The medium's end of the rod, 
as it is pulled back into her body, is absorbed in 

221 



222 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

her ; perhaps the rod is ultimately made up of 
great bundles of thread-like projections and the 
whole rod is anchored to her like the roots of 
a tree. 

(2) The rod is capable of to-and-fro motion 
horizontally over a considerable arc, and can 
thus move bodies about within the circle formed 
by the sitters ; it has also a limited motion in a 
vertical plane. 

(3) The rod, while capable of in - and - out 
movement from the medium's body, can be 
fixed or locked at any required position within 
its limits of extension, so that in such position it 
becomes a cantilever. 

(4) The rod can transmit pulling and pushing 
forces. 

(5) The free end of the rod is capable (at least 
sometimes) of gripping bodies by adhesion. 

(6) All the motions of the rod are worked 
from within the body of the medium. 

(7) The dimensions of the rod can vary 
greatly ; its cross-section may have different 
values, and various modifications can be made of 
the shape and condition of its free end. For 
ordinary rapping a certain amount of matter 
seems to be concentrated near the end ; and for 
other forms of rapping, such as the imitation of 
the bouncing ball, sawing, scraping, etc., it seems 
as though other modifications and dispositions 
were made. For levitation a special form of the 
rod is used, its free end being bent up and gripping 
the table by adhesion underneath. Neverthe- 



GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 223 

less, whether for levitation, rapping, or other 
phenomena, a rod-Hke projection is always used, 
though this projection may assume special forms 
and shapes, and have special terminal modifica- 
tions, and have different degrees of flexibility 
and stiffness to suit the production of different 
phenomena. 

In the light of this theory a large amount of 
the physical phenomena of the seance room 
become somewhat more intelligible. Take as 
an example " direct voice " phenomena, where a 
metal trumpet some 3 or 4 ft. long is carried 
round the room in the air for many minutes at a 
time, while voices purport to speak through it to 
the sitters. It is possible, and even probable, that 
the trumpet is gripped adhesively by the free end 
of a rod-projection from the medium, and is 
carried about on the end of this rod, all kinds of 
motion being possible, as explained above. 

Having arrived at the rod -projection theory, it 
becomes necessary to endeavour to find out a 
little about the composition of the rod, in what 
manner it possesses the characteristics of a solid 
body, and so on ; and I wish to state here that I 
have no satisfactory theory to offer. In the few 
remarks I am going to make I will endeavour to 
summarise some of the facts I have observed, and 
state a few of the deductions from such facts, so 
that at a later date they may be co-ordinated 
with the results of further experimental work, 
and help, I hope, in the final solution of the 
problem. 



224 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

The first thing I wish to mention in this con- 
nection is that occasionally during levitation I 
have felt immediately below the under surface of 
the table (not near the floor) something that 
appears to be matter. It has a cold, clammy, 
reptilian feeling, impossible adequately to describe 
in words, but which, once felt, the experimenter 
always recognises again. I was struck, when 
reading over some of Dr Schrenck-Notzing's ex- 
periments on materialisation, to notice that in 
the first stages of materialisation the matter 
issuing from the medium gave the same or a 
very similar sensation to the hand ; the feeling 
being described as cold and clammy, one of the 
assistants even remarking that it felt as though 
a small reptile were lying on his hand. There is 
therefore little doubt in my mind that the stuff 
issuing from the medium in the first stages of 
materialisation and the stuff under the top of the 
levitated table are essentially one and the same. 
The stuff coming from Dr Schrenck-Notzing's 
medium was observed issuing sometimes from 
her mouth, and was perfectly visible, while any 
such matter under the table is not visible. It 
must therefore, if essentially the same, be of a 
more rudimentary quality, a stage further back 
than that made use of for materialisation. The 
matter under the table felt quite still and at 
rest, and, in fact, when I moved my hand to and 
fro amongst it, the table soon dropped, showing 
that it was essential to levitation. Indeed, the 
operators were always very chary about letting 



GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 225 

me work in amongst it, the only thing in that 
connection they did not object to greatly being 
the moving of a thin rod across the space 
occupied by it. 

In addition to the under surface of the 
levitated table, I have often felt this same 
quality of matter, with its same cold, clammy, 
reptile-like feel, near the ankles of the medium 
when rapping was taking place close to her 
feet at the commencement of a seance. For 
an important seance I have never placed my 
hand near the place from which this stuif was 
issuing ; for I soon found by experience in 
early trials that if I did so the rapping was 
stopped for quite a long time, and could seem- 
ingly only be restarted with difficulty. During 
impromptu circles, however, or because of ignor- 
ance at the commencement of my experiments, 
I have often interrupted the flow of this 
matter, with the inevitable result of temporarily 
stopping phenomena. The main point, however, 
is that near the medium, indeed quite close 
to her body, the same quality of matter is 
present during rapping phenomena as is present 
under the levitated table ; and not only so, 
but in the former case it is in motion in the 
direction from body of medium outwards, as 
can easily be observed by the spore-like sensa- 
tion as of soft particles moving gently against 
the hand. During levitation of the table I 
have never actually interrupted the line of 
stress from medium to table with my hand, 

15 



226 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

but I have placed a delicate pressure-recording 
apparatus in that line (see Experiments 59 and 
60), with the result that it was shown there was 
mechanical pressure close to the body of the 
medium (although the conditions of the experi- 
ment allow of its being a pressure of very- 
small magnitude) acting outwards from her to 
the levitated table ; and furthermore, the placing 
of the apparatus in the stress-line caused the 
table to drop. Also, the place of origin of this 
stress-line in the body of the medium appeared 
to be near the lower part of the trunk. It 
seems likely, therefore, that the pressure against 
the testing apparatus was due to a flow of 
particles of the same kind of matter as can be 
felt under the levitated table and such as 
issues from the ankles of the medium during 
rapping near her feet. It remains to be added 
that the operators were annoyed at my inter- 
ference with the line medium to table, and told 
me so by vigorous raps. There can be little 
doubt this is the vital part of the mechanism 
of levitation, and it is the part that cannot be 
interfered with if we desire phenomena. 

My proposition, then, is this : — An essential 
part of the levitating cantilever (or modified rod- 
projection) consists of particles of cold, clammy, 
disagreeable matter which in the end of the 
cantilever near the medium (the fixed end) are 
in motion outwards from her, and which under 
the table are at rest. Also, for the construc- 
tion of the rapping rods the same kind of 



GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 227 

matter is necessary ; and it likewise, in the end 
attached to the medium, is moving outwards 
from her. 

I next wish to call attention to what happens 
at levitation. 1 have shown during the course 
of my experiments that it seems as though the 
preliminary process to actual levitation is the 
laying of some kind of a loose link from medium 
to table, or, if a compression balance is under 
the table, from medium to pan of the balance. 
Let us suppose that this loose link consists 
of some fine threads of matter similar to the 
organic matter that issues from the mouth of 
Dr Schrenck-Notzing's medium, only much 
finer and beyond the reach of visibility. Dr 
Schrenck-Notzing has shown that the thready 
stuff from his medium can twist and squirm 
and move about and make purposeful motions 
as though it were alive and conscious. The 
levitating threads may also be supposed to 
find their way by similar movements from 
the body of the medium to the under surface 
of the table, and thus to form a foundation 
for the levitating structure to be immediately 
erected. For what happens from half a minute 
to a minute after the preliminary arrangements 
are complete ? The levitating force is then 
applied, and grows at a fairly uniform rate until 
levitation actually occurs, the growth of the 
force taking from five to six seconds. It seems 
as though the essential threads, or bundle of 
threads, being in position, a force is exerted 



228 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

along their axis which stiffens them and makes 
the bundle into a solid rod. 

There are other observations which show that 
the levitating cantilever consists of a very fine 
(possibly organic) thread-like structure which is 
stiffened and made rigid by some kind of force 
being applied along it, rather than of a system 
of rays or anything of that nature. One of these 
is that the structure can transmit both pushing 
and pulling forces of large magnitude. I cannot 
imagine any system of stresses, unless they had 
a physical basis, being able to do this with con- 
ditions such as they are in the seance room. 
Then again, the change of direction of the free 
end of the cantilever as it rises in columnar form 
beneath the table would seem also to presuppose 
some kind of interconnected physical structure, 
perhaps of a cobwebby form, which is filled out 
and made stiff by its interstices being under 
some kind of pressure. The fact that the levi- 
tating force grows from the instant of applica- 
tion at a fairly slow and uniform rate, and is 
not applied instantly, would indicate that the 
force exerted along the structure, whatever its 
nature, has the function of stiffening it. So 
that, taking everything into consideration, my 
basic idea of the rod-projection is this: — It 
consists fundamentally of a bundle of very fine 
threads thrust out from the body of the medium, 
which are practically transparent and hence in- 
visible ; the threads being intimately connected 
and touching and adhering to one another. 



GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 229 

These threads, in the manner of those observed 
during Dr Schrenck-Notzing's experiments on 
materiahsation, can move and twist about by- 
forces appHed to them from within the body of 
the medium (possibly they are directly connected 
to the nervous system of the medium by nerve 
filaments or in some other way) ; the threads 
are gradually projected to the space beneath the 
table, and their free ends are attached to its 
under surface. When this has been attained, 
a force is applied along their axis, gradually and 
uniformly, with the result that the system of 
threads (or cable, it would perhaps be well to 
call it) is gradually stiffened and becomes a rigid 
girder projecting from the medium and able to 
levitate the table. That a preliminary thread- 
like structure, which is afterwards stiffened, is 
first sent out from the medium is also likely 
from the following experimental result : — When 
the seance table had the two light cross-bars 
near the bottom of the legs removed (see Ex- 
periment 52), the operators seemed to have some 
small difficulty for a little time afterwards in 
levitating the table as completely and easily as 
before. They seemed to have to make new 
adjustments, as it were, and to get used to 
making these adjustments. I think the pre- 
liminary thread-like structure from the medium 
took hold of these cross-bars in the process of 
shaping the cantilever — i.e. they were used as 
vantage-points from which to erect the structure. 
However, it wasn't long before levitation with- 



230 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

out them was as strong and powerful as ever ; 
some new arrangement having undoubtedly been 
devised by the operators. 

The question then arises : What sort of force 
is it that is applied along the axis of the threads 
or fibres ? Is it some mysterious, totally un- 
known force of which we have not the faintest 
conception, or is it a force with whose laws we 
are acquainted ? The only answer I can give 
is that I do not know. It may turn out 
eventually to be a very simple matter. 

I wish to state here what a clairvoyante saw 
at the circle — a clairvoyante who has many 
claims to recognition, — as she described it to me. 
She says that under the table, close to the under 
surface and extending down for a little way, 
she saw a whitish vapoury substance, somewhat 
like smoke, and when the table was levitated 
this substance seemed to increase in density, i.e. 
in whiteness. When a visitor to the circle sat 
on the table in order that it should tilt and 
throw him off, she saw this substance below the 
table get very white and dense just previous to 
the movement which actually tilted the table. 
So much so, in fact, was she able to see the 
variation in the density and whiteness of the 
substance, and its relation to the magnitude of 
the force applied, that she was able to call out 
that a movement was about to occur before it 
actually occurred, by noticing the density and 
opacity increasing. She says that this whitish 
substance was only to be seen under the top of 



GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 231 

the table, and did not reach to the floor. Also, 
a great band of it came from the left side of the 
medium with a kind of rotary motion, and was 
continuous with that under the table. From all 
the other sitters a very thin band, like a ribbon, 
also came, and was continuous with the mass 
under the table. Nowhere did any of these 
bands, the comparatively huge one from the 
medium, or the thin and paltry ones from the 
sitters, touch the floor. The clairvoyante says 
she also saw various spirit forms and spirit hands 
manipulating the psychic stuff; but we may 
leave that out of consideration and confine our 
attention to what is mentioned above. 

The remarkable fact is plain that the clair- 
voyante's description tallies in an extraordinary 
way with my deductions from the experiments. 
In the first place, she says there was none of the 
white filmy stuff on or near the floor beneath 
the levitated table. Experiments have absolutely 
convinced me that there is no psychic pressure 
on the floor or on a platform placed less than 
3 in. above the floor, and that the psychic reaction 
gradually increases with the height of the plat- 
form. In the second place, she says the different 
degrees of apparent density of the substance 
enabled her roughly to gauge the magnitude of 
the psychic force. Now, it is absolutely certain 
that the pressure below the table in the act of 
levitation is applied gradually, and only reaches 
a maximum after five or six seconds, which gave 
me time to call out that a levitation was about 



232 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOI^IENA 

to occur, well before it did actually occur. In 
the third place, the great bulk of the whitish 
substance was seen proceeding from the medium, 
but there was also a thin band from each sitter. 
Now, experiment shows that when the table is 
levitated, about 97 per cent, of the reaction is 
upon the medium ; that on one of the other 
sitters there is also a small but nevertheless 
perceptible reaction. The coincidence, to say 
the least of it, is thought-provoking. The clair- 
voyante says she saw the whitish substance 
issuing from the left side of the medium. As a 
matter of fact, the medium, during the course 
of her development, has occasionally been troubled 
with a soreness in her left side, which may not 
unreasonably be supposed to be due to the large 
quantity of psychic stuff which may issue thence 
during levitation. 

If we may take the vision of the clairvoyante as 
accurate, it would appear that a whitish substance 
is present under the top part of the levitated 
table, the whiteness or density increasing with 
the magnitude of the psychic force applied. This 
substance is not visible to normal vision, for 
often I have looked right below levitated tables 
from one side of the circle to the other, and 
have seen nothing. Nevertheless, for all that, 
as already mentioned, something in the nature 
of a cold, clammy substance appears to be there. 
Therefore it is probably this substance that the 
clairvoyante, with her abnormal perception, 
really saw. In this connection it is well to 



GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 233 

remember that the photograph (Experiment 87) 
shows a white, filmy, translucent substance, ap- 
parently projected from the body of one of the 
sitters, and that this substance also has different 
degrees of density. Possibly the stuif shown 
in the photograph, the stuff the clairvoyante 
saw, and the stuff I felt under the table and 
near the ankles of the medium are one and the 
same. At any rate, if the clairvoyante really 
saw this stuff, it is reasonable to believe that 
the different degrees of density she observed 
in it are really varying degrees of density of the 
stuff itself; that is to say, that the magnitude 
of the applied psychic force is somewhat directly 
proportional to the density of the matter taken 
from the medium. From which we arrive at 
the inference : — the magnitude of the psychic 
force is directly proportional to the density of 
the matter in the stress line from medium to 
table. 

The stiffness of the levitating cantilever would 
then be more or less proportional to the density 
of the matter packed into or among the threads 
or fibres issuing from the medium. 

That some kind of a thread-like base or 
substratum is used as a foundation for the 
phenomena at the circle is also inferentially 
deduced from the following, which, however, 
I have not personally observed. Mr Morrison, 
whose place in the circle is on the right-hand 
side of the medium, and who holds her right 
hand throughout the seance (except on special 



234 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

occasions when hands are on knees), and who 
has been sitting once a week on an average for 
a period of over three years, informs me that 
occasionally, when psychic energy has been weak, 
he has felt a loose kind of flabby projection 
striking him on the knee or other part of the 
body. It is reasonable to suppose that this is 
a rapping rod which the operators have been 
unable to make rigid through lack of psychic 
energy. Mr Morrison being the director of the 
circle, the operators often gently touch him 
when they desire to attract his attention to 
something that is hindering phenomena ; usually 
their touch is quite firm, but on a few occasions, 
as mentioned, he has felt the loose, baggy projec- 
tion flapping against him. 

The efl*ect of light is, generally speaking, so 
well known on the production of physical 
phenomena, that I do not intend to say much 
about it. The obvious fact is that the less light 
the more intense the phenomena. I have come 
to the conclusion that light affects the rigidity 
of the rapping rods, i.e. these rods cannot be 
made stiff* if strong light is playing upon them. 
As a case in point, I would refer the reader to 
p. 195, where it is shown that with too much 
light, or with badly regulated light, the raps were 
not sharp and distinct as they should be, but 
were soft and dull as though the end of the rod 
itself were soft ; in other words, the rigidity of 
the rod was affected. I do not think that the 
light affects the substratum fibres so much as 



GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 235 

the matter that is packed into them to stiffen 
them (if there is anything in the fibre theory) ; 
i.e. I think that the cold, clammy matter above 
mentioned cannot exist in the presence of strong 
light. Possibly it is of complicated chemical 
structure, belonging to the nervous elements 
of the body, and the action of light causes 
molecular breakdown. There is the more reason 
to suppose that something like this takes place 
inasmuch as it is found by experience that light 
of long wave-length, i.e. red light, is least 
deleterious. 

Of course, in the seance room the factors of 
reflection, refraction, and absorption of the light 
used have to be taken into consideration. In 
this regard I will mention a rather curious case 
which occurred at one of my stances. As 
already mentioned, I used at my experimental 
circles an ordinary flame gas-jet enclosed in a 
metal lantern, two sides of the lantern being 
replaced by rectangular pieces of red glass which 
could slide up and down in grooves. The 
intensity of the red light thus produced could 
be considerably varied by means of an ordinary 
gas tap. For most of the seances this lamp was 
fixed to the mantelpiece ; for a late seance it 
was taken from the mantelpiece and fixed a 
foot higher up the wall, with the idea of leaving 
the floor a little more in shadow and of giving 
greater luminosity in the higher parts of the 
room. The seance commenced, but, as after 
twenty minutes or so very little seemed to be 



236 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

doing — a most unusual occurrence, — I began to 
wonder what was the matter. Shortly after- 
wards, by means of raps, the operators spelt out 
the following : — 

" Could you place the lamp lower down ? " 
After a lot of trouble, we succeeded in fixing 
the lamp in its original position on the mantel- 
piece, when phenomena of great intensity 
commenced. I could see practically no differ- 
ence in the degree of visibility for the two 
positions. I think, however, that in its higher 
position light was being reflected from the white- 
washed roof to the floor, and this is a matter 
psychic investigators should bear in mind. I 
have noticed, also, that the operators find 
difficulty in applying psychic force to polished 
bodies, and that they prefer a rough, darkish 
surface. But this, of course, may have nothing 
to do with the light, and may be due to the fact 
that the adhesive qualities of the rod-projection 
are best suited to rough surfaces. 

The question is often asked : Why do you 
not apply to the operators themselves for the 
solution of the problems relating to the pheno- 
mena ? In fact, this question was raised during 
the running of my series of articles in Light, 
and is a perfectly legitimate one. Moreover, 
I was interested in it during the course of all 
my work, and always had it in mind ; indeed, 
the reader of this book will find that here and 
there I have asked questions of the operators 
as to modes of procedure, as to how things 



GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 237 

were done, and so on, and that I have either 
acted on the suggestions given or have examined 
any of the statements made. 

In the first place, the operators themselves 
do not seem to know much about the scientific 
aspect of the phenomena they produce. If I 
may hazard an opinion, I would say that they 
are only aware of the broad outlines of what 
they are doing, just as we are, for instance, 
when we send an electric current along a wire. 
At any rate, I am convinced that the operators 
know next to nothing of force magnitudes and 
reactions. Their idea as to the prime cause of 
the phenomena is " power." For instance, when 
I inquired how a certain reaction effect was 
obtained, they spelt out by raps the word 
"power." That is to say, they have no exact 
scientific knowledge of details. They are like 
the workman who knows by experience what 
depth of cut to take on a job in the lathe, at 
what speed to run the machine, etc., but who 
has little idea of the cutting force exerted by 
the edge of the tool, or of the exact horse-power 
necessary to drive the machine. Nevertheless, 
as might be supposed, if some small material 
thing is interfering with their results they are 
quick enough to rap out a request that it be 
rectified, just as a workman would know to 
sharpen his tool if its cutting quality was 
defective. Thus on one occasion they asked 
that a piece of cloth should be placed on the 
drawing-board, on another that the light should 



238 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

be placed nearer the floor, and on another 
that one of the sitters should alter position. 
Small things like these, which interfere with 
the intensity of their phenomena, they seem 
to understand ; but as to what form of energy 
it is they utilise to lift the table or cause the 
rap they seem to know little. 

What I have said above refers to communi- 
cations received by raps when Miss Goligher 
was perfectly normal, as she always is at all 
experimental circles. Occasionally, however, 
when I have desired it, she has gone into 
trance, not for physical phenomena, but to 
allow me to talk to the entities purporting to 
speak through her. One of these, who says 
he was a medical man while on earth, and 
whose function at the circle is to look after 
the health of the medium during phenomena, 
has told me (a little obscurely, it is true) that 
there are two kinds of substance taken from 
the members of the circle and used in the 
production of phenomena. One of these is 
taken in comparatively large quantities from 
medium and sitters, and is all, or nearly all, 
returned to them at the close of the seance. 
The other is taken in minute quantities, and 
can only be obtained from the medium, and 
this stuff cannot be returned to her because 
when it is used for phenomenal purposes its 
structure is broken up. It consists of the most 
vital material in the medium's body — stuff from 
the interior of her nerve cells, — and only the 



GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 239 

most minute quantity can be removed without 
injury to the medium. I give his statement, 
of course, only as a matter of interest. 

One other point. The operators are always 
strongly affirmative, strongly negative, or strongly 
doubtful in replies to questions. I have never 
known them say they could do something and 
then fail to do it ; likewise, if they say they 
cannot do a thing, it will not be done ; if they 
mention the matter as doubtful, they try to 
accomplish it, usually successfully. So also, in 
answer to questions with regard to the produc- 
tion of the phenomena, I have always found them 
eager to tell me anything they can ; and if they 
affirm any one of my theories is right, wrong, 
or doubtful, I have always found, by deduction 
from the experiments themselves, or by later 
experiments, that it was as they said. I have 
never known them volunteer information (with 
the exception of the case of the " doctor " referred 
to above), but they are always willing strongly 
to affirm or strongly to deny the general sense 
of my conclusions. In addition, I have some- 
times thought they have brought to my attention 
in roundabout ways phases of an experiment I 
should otherwise have overlooked. 

Besides the main processes resulting in levita- 
tion, rapping, etc., there are various preliminary 
operations taking place at the circle which I have 
not studied in any very definite way, but which, 
nevertheless, are of great interest. I will con- 
clude by saying a few words about them. 



240 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

For the first half-hour or so after the opening 
of the seance I have found it advisable that the 
members of the circle should clasp hands in chain 
order, i.e. the hands of each person should be 
held by the hands of the persons on either side 
of him. After the expiration of that time it 
is usually immaterial whether hands are kept 
clasped, or whether each sitter places his hands 
on his knees. I say this is usually the case, but 
it is not always so. It is only true when the 
seance has been a good one, with phenomena 
occurring plentifully. If phenomena have been 
weak, the unclasping of hands and the placing 
of them on the knees is usually fatal to further 
manifestations unless the chain order is resumed. 

All this points to the fact that at a normally 
good seance the sitting, generally speaking, may 
be divided into two parts — a part which is more 
or less unstable, where the operators are chiefly 
engaged in preparatory work, and a part where 
psychic affairs have reached a state of equilibrium. 
I have often watched the two processes — the 
stage of preliminary operations and the stage of 
balance. 

To my mind, the two processes suggest 
physical analogies which are helpful. Let us 
think of a large tank situated well above the 
ground level, which has to be filled with water 
from the ground by means of several varieties 
of steam pumps. The sitters may be likened 
to the steam pumps, and their various psychic 
capacities and conditions may be considered 



GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 241 

to resemble various classes and designs in 
the pumps. The filling of the water tank is 
equivalent to producing a region of psychic 
pressure in the neighbourhood of the medium. 
I find that the psychic tank takes about half 
an hour to fill at the Goligher circle. Very 
seldom is it completely filled ; when it is, there 
results a wonderful phenomenal sitting. At 
seances where the accumulated amount of 
psychic energy is small — where the tank is only 
a quarter filled, say — the psychic pumps have to 
be kept more or less continually going. The 
spasmodic jerking seen in the bodies of the 
sitters is in effect the visible working of the 
psychic pumps. 

Let us suppose that the stance is a good one, 
and that it is possible for the members of the 
circle to place hands on knees and thus become 
physically isolated from one another. In that 
case the stage of psychic equilibrium has been 
reached — the psychic tank has been filled, — and 
a reservoir of psychic energy has been accumu- 
lated in the neighbourhood of the medium, 
or within the body of the medium, from which 
the operators can draw to produce phenomena. 
Now, what kind of potential energy is it? Is 
it chemical, pressure, electrical, heat energy, or 
indeed some form quite unknown to us ? Person- 
ally — and now the reader must remember I am 
again in the region of hypothesis, though of 
hypothesis derived from a considerable amount 
of observation — I am inclined to think it is a 

16 



242 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 

form of chemical energy associated with the 
human nervous system. The opportunities for 
research here are unHmited. At any rate, I 
think there can be little doubt that this psychic 
energy is associated with particles of matter. 
For instance, a cold wind is often apparent at 
the commencement of a seance — a cold wind 
which often disappears after a time. I think it 
probable that this cold effect is due to material 
evaporation from the bodies of the sitters ; not 
to a large or even appreciable amount of evapor- 
ation, but nevertheless to the evaporation of 
definite particles of matter. The reservoir of 
psychic energy accumulated presumably near 
the medium does not appreciably affect her 
weight. I have weighed her before the seance, 
and then again when the seance has been in 
operation for an hour or so, with psychic equi- 
librium well established, but / found no appre- 
ciable difference in the two results. In fact, 
it would appear that the accumulated psychic 
energy is only associated with a small and 
perhaps an inappreciable amount of matter. 
For all that, of course, it may have consider- 
able magnitude. 

In order that we may form some kind of 
mental picture of what occurs to medium and 
sitters, I offer the following hypothesis. It is 
very imperfect, but may be useful in the mean- 
time in default of anything better : — 

Sitters clasp hands. Spasmodic jerking occurs. 
A cold wind is sometimes felt in the wrists and 



GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 243 

hands. After half an hour or so the jerking 
ceases or becomes less pronounced. 

Interpretation. — Operators are acting on the 
brains of the sitters and thence on their nervous 
systems. Small particles, it may even be mole- 
cules, are driven off the nervous system, out 
through the bodies of sitters at wrists, hands, 
fingers, or elsewhere. These small particles, now 
free, have a considerable amount of latent energy 
inherent in them, an energy which can react on 
any human nervous system with which they come 
into contact. This stream of energised particles 
flows round the circle, probably partly through 
the bodies of the sitters, and probably partly on 
the periphery of their bodies. The stream, by 
gradual augmentation from the sitters, reaches 
the medium at a high degree of " tension," ener- 
gises her, receives increment from her, traverses 
the circle again, and so on. Finally, when the 
"tension" is sufficiently great, the circulating 
process ceases, and the energised particles collect 
on or are attached to the nervous system of 
the medium, who has henceforth a reservoir 
from which to draw. The operators having now 
a good supply of the right kind of energy at 
their disposal, viz. nerve energy, can act upon 
the body of the medium, who is so constituted 
that gross matter from her body can, by means 
of the nervous tension applied to it, be actually 
temporarily detached from its usual position and 
projected into the seance room. 



LIST OF EXPERIMENTS 



Experi- 






ment 


Subject. 


Page. 


Number. 






I 


Phonograph record of raps .... 


27 


2 


Reaction on medium 




40 


3 


)) )> 






41 


4 


J) j> 






42 


5 


Reaction on sitter . 






46 


6 


11 » 






47 


7 


Reaction on medium 






49 


8 


» >> 






50 


9 


" . " 






51 


lO 


Table moving along floor 




52 


II 


Various movements of table . 




53 


12 


Observation of weighing-machine . 




54 


13 


Table tilted on two legs . 




54 


14 


Table pulled towards medium 




55 


15 


Table pushed from medium . 




55 


16 


Calculation of le\ itating pressure . 




60 


17 


5) » J> 




62 


18 


Muscular force on table . 




63 


19 


Two resistances for table 




66 


20 


Unyielding resistance for table 




68 


21 


Overturning of table 




68 


22 


Increased and decreased weight of table 




70 


23 


Table levitated upside down . 




70 


24 


Muscular force on upturned table . 




71 


25 


Experimenter sitting on table 


71 



244 



LIST OF EXPERIMENTS 



245 



Experi- 






ment 


Subject. 


Page. 


Number. 






26 


Maximum psychic force on table . 


72 


27 


Unsymmetrical loading of table 




74 


28 


Ringing an electric bell . 




74 


29 


Trumpet pulled .... 




76 


30 


Table pulled from edge of circle . 




78 


31 


Handkerchief on floor . 




78 


32 


Light placed on table 




81 


33 


Sliding body under table 




83 


34 


Exploring region below legs of table 




84 


35 


Exploring region under table 




85 


36 


Glass tube below table . 




87 


37 


Manometer below table . 




88 


38 


Reaction on floor .... 




91 


39 


Ringing electric bell ..." 




94 


40 


Levitation above weighing- machine 




96 


41 


5) )) » 




98 


42 


)> )) >) 




lOI 


43 


)5 _ )) 5> • 




102 


44 


Compression balance below table . 




108 


45 


)5 )> >) 




III 


46 


Table tilting above balance . 




114 


47 


Compression balance tests 




115 


48 


Horizontal component of reaction . 




117 


49 


» )} J5 • 




119 


50 


Vertical downward reaction . 




120 


51 


Reaction and height of platform . 




123 


52 


)) 55 )) 




127 


53 


Stool levitated above balance 




130 


54 


Electrical test for reaction 




132 


55 


Reaction on medium 




135 


56 


Crackling sound in table 




136 


57 


Thud under table 




^Z7 


58 


Electroscope under table 




138 


59 


Space between medium and table . 




139 


60 


5J >> )» • • 




140 


61 


Reaction on floor 




141 


62 


Condition of medium .... 




141 


63 


Weight of levitating structure 




142 



246 REALITY OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 



Experi- 






ment 


Subject. 


Page., 


Number. 






64 


Preparation for levitation .... 


143 


65 


Actual matter below table 






145 


66 


Weight lost by sitters 






146 


67 


Fluorescence . 






150 


68 


Psychic pull . 






16S 


69 


)j » • • 






168 


70 


Trumpet movements 






175 


71 


Medium's weight and raps 






181 


72 


)) >J 5) 






184 


73 


Medium and commencement of seance 


185 


74 


Distinction between levitation and rapping . 


190 


75 


Bombardment during rapping 


190 


76 


Shape of rap .... 




192 


77 


Typewriter test 




201 


78 


Raps on putty 




202 


79 


Electroscope below table 




207 


80 


Psychic touching of electroscope 




207 


81 


5> » )5 




208 


82 


)» 5> )J 




209 


83 


Electric shock test 




210 


84 


Phosphorescence . 




211 


85 


Fluorescence .... 




211 


86 


Delicacy of actions on medium 




212 


87 


Psychic photograph 






214 



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